


Fight For What You Have

by White_Noise



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Its not compliant ok, M/M, Not Compliant to anything past first Avengers movie, Not Iron Man 3 Compliant, Not Winter Soldier Compliant, Superfamily (Marvel), Time Travel, continuation of someone elses story, not civil war compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-11 22:19:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7072750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/White_Noise/pseuds/White_Noise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A continuation of 'Weep Not For What You Have Lost' by ezazahaz.</p><p>Tony has to adjust to living in the future. Peter and Steve have to adjust to Tony after over a decade without him. And the Avengers have to adjust to Iron Man's return. </p><p>This is not going to be easy for anyone involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Weep Not For What You Have Lost](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2035092) by [ezazahaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezazahaz/pseuds/ezazahaz). 



> This work is a continuation of the story 'Weep Not For What You Have Lost', written with permission from the author ezazahaz. It starts directly after that one and I don't put too much detail into what happened so I suggest you go read it before you begin this one. Go on. I'll wait.  
> ....  
> ....  
> ....  
> Back? Good. On with the story.

Only moments after managing to detangle himself from the grips of the Black Widow and Hawkeye, Tony had found himself being physically dragged out of his workshop to Bruce's lab by Steve, his super soldier husband determined to ensure that after 11 years, the man standing before him was the real Tony Stark.

Tony had been forced to sit on the small examination table as Bruce, joined a few minutes later by a Doctor Reed Richards who had apparently been summoned by Steve, administered multiple tests. 

Despite JARVIS's earlier assessments, blood and DNA had still been drawn and checked to ensure that Tony was not a Skrull or LMD. The genius had been questioned about his memories, his history to ensure he was not from an alternate universe. He had even been made to strip off his grease covered t-shirt and jeans so his life time collection of scars and burns could be catalogued against JARVIS's database to ensure he wasn't a clone. Even his Arc Reactor had been analyzed and compared against his own design notes to ensure it was the real thing and not a clever copy.

Tony had sat through the tests, almost numb now that he finally had the space to process everything. It had been easy back in his workshop, pretending that everything was ok in front of the others. Tony was a showman and acting was what he did. The relief of the other Avengers had made it slightly easier for Tony to push everything aside, even with the confronting vision of his, only hours before (from his perspective) 5 year old son now a teenager. 

It was hard to believe that the teen had, only hours ago, been sitting his 5 year old butt in bed, waiting for his dad to come and read to him before joining his pop in bed. 

Now he was here, while the 16 year old stood in the corner of Bruce's lab, watching as Tony was examined. Steve stood beside Peter, an arm wrapped around the boys shoulder in comfort, both wearing twin expressions of fear and hope, as if they were bracing themselves for the bad news while desperately hoping for the best.

Unable to focus anymore, Tony felt himself zone out of the present as beside him, Bruce and Richards talked, Bruce waving a Geiger Counter over Tony's head, checking for any odd radiation spikes while Richards attached probes the Tony's temples, checking his brain activity to see if he was some sort of brain washed sleeper agent or something.

After what felt like forever, Steve's voice broke through to Tony, pulling him away from the comforting numbness of absent thought. 

"I think that's enough for tonight Bruce." The super soldier said, finally stepping out of the corner he and Peter had occupied, to catch everyone’s attention. Tony briefly forced himself to focus on his husband, his eyes meeting Steve's own fiery blue ones. 

It was strange looking into those eyes, both the same and different from how he remembered them. Those were the eyes of a man who had seen too much, who had suffered through heart break and loss. Those were the eyes of a different man from who Steve had been 11 years ago. A man who had spent 11 years without Tony.

Tony ducked his head, trying to push away that train of thought, knowing it would only lead to another wave of pain over what Steve had been forced to go through without him. Why hadn't he gone upstairs when Steve had come to collect him? Why had he insisted on those extra 2 minutes? Why had it all gone so horribly wrong?

Looking down at his still bare legs, Tony began to absentmindedly play with the piece of cotton wool Bruce had taped to his arm after his blood had been taken.

"You have ruled out Skrull, LMD, Clone and Hydra Sleeper. There isn't much more to check." Steve continued, still watching his husband. Despite the 11 years of separation, Steve could still recognise when Tony was withdrawing into himself. Years of untreated PTSD had taken its toll on the genius long before Steve had managed to get Tony to seek professional help and despite everything, Steve knew that Tony had never quiet defeated the darkness of his own mind and the trauma he had endured. 

Sure, Tony had been doing well when they had first adopted Peter, going almost a year without an attack before he had disappeared from their lives. But Steve had never forgotten those few attacks he had witnessed, those bad nights where Tony had seemed to fight for his very sanity and Steve had been helpless to do anything but hold him and try to let him know that it was going to get better. 

Steve could recognise the signs. Tony was on the edge, and who knew what all this could to do him. Yes, Steve was now certain that the man before him was his missing husband and not something else sent to destroy the Avengers while wearing Tony's face (and yes, that had happened once. It had almost killed Steve that their enemies had stooped so low as to make a fake Tony to infiltrate them, when he had been forced to face down the robot wearing his missing husbands face)

Steve knew firsthand what it was like to wake up in the future, to have his whole life turned upside down. He knew what it was like to see that the people he had loved had moved on with their lives without him. And even though they had tried not to, it was true that in a way, Steve had changed. He wasn't the man that had been at Tony's side 11 years ago. He had grown from that point in his life, changed. He had spent years as a single father, as a model hero, as an Avenger. He had watched his son grow up, something which Tony had been denied. 

But that was where Tony had the advantage over Steve. Because he now had Steve to support him. Not just as someone who had dealt with a similar situation, but as someone who had helped someone else deal with a similar situation. 

3 years after Tony had disappeared, Steve had located the Winter Soldier. Another man out of his time, Bucky had been forced to adjust to a world that was not his own. Steve's best friend, his brother, had gone through hell, brainwashed by the soviets to do their dirty work. Once free, it had left a broken shell of a man, haunted by memories of the monster he had been made into and by the memories of the man he had once been. 

Steve had done everything in his power to help Bucky, feeling that in some way, his helping his friend could help him deal with his missing husband. Eventually Bucky had pieced himself together.

Steve knew that with himself and Bucky as examples, Tony could be helped to adjust, could learn to love this new time period as his home. But first, he needed to get out of here, to somewhere familiar where Tony could de-stress and start to piece together what had happened. 

"All evidence suggests that he is our Tony." Bruce was saying in response to Steve's enquiry as he slowly started to pack up his equipment. "Although how on earth he managed to get himself thrown 11 years into the future, I still can’t tell you." 

"Ideally, I would like Professor Xavier to have a look at him." Richards added, finally pulling the sticky pads off Tony's head, talking like the man himself wasn't within striking distance. It was probably a good thing Steve liked Richards and Tony seemed so out of it.

"But not tonight." Steve said forcefully, making sure Reed understood that he was not to make any unauthorized calls to Logan or any of the X-Men regarding this. "We all need to rest."

Reed nodded, clearly understanding what Steve meant. 

"We're in a lock down." The other man confirmed. 

Bruce looked between Reed and Steve in surprise.

"Are you sure? I mean, Tony Stark coming back from the dead is big news. We can't hide that sort of thing Steve." 

"Complete black out. Not even Pepper or Rhodey. And defiantly not Fury. Only us, Clint and Natasha are to know that Tony is back." 

"What about the other Avengers?" Bruce asked as Reed nodded in acknowledgement and slung his bag over his shoulder, the leader of the Fantastic Four making a quiet and dignified exit. "If Tony is wandering around the tower, people are going to see him." 

"We will hold the meetings at the Mansion instead. No unauthorized people in the tower until we are ready to break the news."

Bruce opened his mouth, clearly trying to protest but Steve cut him off. 

"Bruce, go home to your family. Let me take care of mine."

Slowly, Bruce nodded and turned. Patting the still silent Tony on the shoulder, the man turned and exited the lab. Steve turned to his husband, noting how Tony was still pulling at the cotton swab. Reaching over, Steve took Tony's hand pulling it away from the plastic. Slowly, Tony looked up, finally focusing on Steve's face.

"Hi." Steve said, smiling softly. "It's good to have you home."

Slowly, Tony lent forward on the table until his forehead hit Steve's shoulder. Carefully, Steve wrapped his arms around his husband, cocooning Tony against his chest. 

After a moment, the soldier turned his head to invite their teenager to join them. He frowned, noticing the empty corner where Peter had stood just minutes before. But the younger hero was gone. 

\-------

Tony wasn't sure how long his mind had drifted in the numb haze before the genius came back to himself, his head resting against Steve's chest, Steve's hands rubbing soothing circles on his back. 

Everything was a nice, hazy almost sleep. Absentmindedly, Tony wondered when he had last slept. Not since.....shit! Not since he had been back in 2014!

Tony jerked suddenly, almost breaking Steve's grip as it all came back to him. In response, Steve tightened his grip, his cheek resting on the crown of Tony's head, ignoring his husbands sweat greased dark hair.

"It's ok. You are safe. You’re home." The soldier muttered into Tony's ear, continuing his ministrations until Tony finally relaxed again.

Slowly, now that he was certain Tony wasn't going to try and throw him off and possibly hurt himself, Steve released his grip on his husband but kept a hand on Tony's shoulder, trying to offer silent comfort. 

Slowly, Tony looked around. The genius shivered. Steve sighed. 

"Let’s get you dressed and upstairs to bed." The soldier said. It was only 5pm in the afternoon but if Steve remembered correctly (Not that he was ever likely to forget that terrible day) it had been after 8pm the night Tony had disappeared, and the genius had been coming off 17 hours of suit modifications before that. Adding the mental stress of his sudden time skip and it was surprising Tony was even conscious right now.

Looking around, Steve tried to locate Tony's clothes only to curse under his breath when he remembered Reed bagging them up and taken them for further analysis. 

Looking around to see if Bruce had left a jacket or something, Steve caught movement out of the corner of his eye. One of the grates in the air vent system was slowly moving back into place. Directly underneath the vent was a neatly folded set of clothes. Steve smiled to himself. 

Thanks Clint.

Striding over, Steve picked up the clothes and returned to Tony's side as the dark haired man slid off the table. Tony took the clothes and unfolded them revealing a black pair of pants, a long sleeved grey undershirt and a blue t-shirt. Tony slipped the pants and undershirt on before grabbing the t-shirt. He held it up to look at and then gave a snort of laughter. 

"Trying to re-stake your claim captain?" Tony asked in a soft voice. But there was a slight smile on the other man’s face. Tony turned the t-shirt so Steve could see it. Steve blinked. 

Dammit Clint.

Printed in the shirt was an image of Steve's own shield. Steve opened his mouth to protest that it hadn't been his idea but stopped as Tony quickly slid the t-shirt over his head. The soldier relaxed, glad that Tony found it amusing. He still wasn't sure what was going on in Tony's head. From memory, he could see that Tony would find it funny, but he had lost his husband for 11 years. He couldn't help but want to be careful around Tony right now.

Seeming to notice Steve staring at him, Tony raised an eyebrow, almost challenging Steve to say something. The blond man forced himself to look away, suddenly self-conscious. For the first time since Tony had re-appeared, Steve realised how old he was. Steve had been 25 years old when he had first been frozen and then re-animated while Tony had been 41. Their relationship had lasted for almost 5 years before Tony had disappeared, making him 45 to Steve’s 30. But Tony hadn’t aged in the last 11 years. Steve had never felt his age before but looking at Tony now, the soldier suddenly became aware of the reduced age gap between them, of the years Tony hadn't experienced. He felt old.

Looking away, Steve made his way to the exit of Bruce’s lab, aware of Tony falling into step behind him, following him out to the elevator which would take them to the penthouse which had been their home since they had first gotten together. 

A year after Tony had disappeared, he had been declared legally dead and Steve had received the news that Tony had left everything to him (Even the major shares in Stark Industry, although Steve had never been willing to touch them, leaving Pepper to carry on that legacy) making Steve the legal owner of Avengers Tower, Avengers Mansion and Tony’s Malibu mansion among other properties, as well as the legal owner of the Iron Man suits. 

Apart from using some of the money to fund Peter’s education and select Avengers projects, Steve hadn’t been willing to touch or change anything, choosing to live off his military pension and stay in their penthouse in the tower. 

Now he was thankful. The penthouse, apart from a few new pictures and trinkets and a new couch, was still fundamentally the same as it had been 11 years ago and would be a familiar and safe place for Tony. 

Stepping into the lift, Steve pressed his back against the metal wall, smiling slightly as Tony followed him, pressing his shoulder against Steve’s. JARVIS, thanks to his clever programming, already knew what Steve wanted and without being ordered, sent the lift upwards towards the highest level of the building. 

The two heroes rode the lift in a comfortable silence, neither looking at each other as Steve enjoyed the comforting warmth of Tony’s body next to his. 

Finally the lift arrived at the top floor, the doors silently opening to allow Steve and Tony to enter the penthouse. Steve stepped out into the familiar environment of their home, Peter wasn’t in the living room. Steve quickly wondered where his teenage son was hiding himself after the shock of seeing his dad for the first time in over a decade. 

Peter was a strong boy, both physically and mentally. It took a certain type of person to handle being the son of Captain America and Iron Man by day and Spiderman by night. Steve had tried to encourage Peter to be brave and stand up for what he believed in, regardless of what others thought of him. 

For the first few months after the super couple had brought Peter home, the media had been all over the story, desperate to see the little boy and show him to the world for their own financial gains. Tony in particular had taken the paparazzi’s attempts personally. Tony had grown up in front of the media, as the only child of the famous Howard Stark and it had been a poisonous childhood. 

Neither hero had wanted Peter to deal with that so several carefully released pictures and some very expensive restraining orders had been put in place to discourage any unauthorised media coverage. 

That hadn’t stopped some mean spirited people from sneaking a camera into the private memorial for Tony’s memory and snap a picture of a then 6 year old Peter crying into Steve’s arms. Pepper herself had spearheaded the lawsuit against the so called journalist but the damage was already done the moment the picture had hit the internet. 

It was part of the reason why Peter had kept his own last name instead of legally taking the Stark or Rogers name. Keeping his last name as Parker had helped Peter have a normal childhood of sorts, allowing him to avoid media attention, to go to a local high school instead of an elite boarding school across the country and to avoid favouritism or prejudice due to his connections. It also stopped him from becoming a target for any villains wanting to use the boy as a way of getting to the Avengers, most of whom were his honorary uncles and aunts and would die to defend the boy. 

Peter had stood up to all this like a champ and Steve could not be more proud of him for that.

However, this new development had clearly hit Peter hard. Steve had noted the tension, the unusual silence, the nerves radiating off Peter from the moment they had stumbled into Tony’s lab to investigate the strange energy readings JARVIS has alerted them to, and found Tony standing in the middle of the room, having not aged a day since they had last seen him. 

When Tony had first turned to Peter and asked who he was, Steve could almost feel the horror radiating off Peter. Tony had been, not just Peter’s dad, but his idol from the moment the boy was first brought home. Even after Tony had disappeared, Peter had worked hard, trying to do everything he could to honour the legacy Tony had left. 

Peter had always been gifted, a child genius. It hadn’t been a surprise that Peter had quickly fallen in love with science and technology, playing around in Bruce’s lab and even commandeering a small section of Tony’s old workshop for himself (He had never touched the back wall, where the Iron Man suits still remained as tribute to their old owner). It hadn’t been a surprise that Peter had graduated high school at the age of 15 and was now attending MIT via correspondents (Steve had offered to arrange for Peter to live at the university but Peter had refused, stating he wanted to be closer to Avengers Tower if Spiderman was needed at short notice. Steve personally thought it was because Peter didn’t want to be near the Tony Stark Memorial Building where most of his classes would have taken place)

Even becoming Spiderman had, in a way, been a tribute to Iron Man.

Still, Steve had hoped that, when Tony had pulled Peter into his arms, acknowledging him as his little boy, that Peter would understand just how much Tony loved him. It wouldn’t be easy for Peter to digest Tony’s return, possibly more difficult than it would be for Tony to acknowledge that the child he had left was almost a man. But Peter was a hero and if anyone could do this, it would be him. Steve had no doubt that Peter would be a key part of getting Tony up to speed.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Steve made his way to the master bedroom. He didn’t bother looking over his shoulder, knowing that Tony would follow when he was ready. Stepping into the room, Steve asked JARVIS to turn on the lights before walking over to the king sized bed. He looked down at the neatly folded sheets on what had been designated Tony’s side. Steve had never really understood Tony’s need to always have the right side of the bed. Then again, he had never really shared a bed with anyone before (excluding those few times where he had curled up with Bucky when they were both kids) He had always slept in his military issued cot or on hard ground and later, in the barracks where the SHIELD agents stayed. But he knew that Tony liked the right side. It was the closest side of the bed to the door and that seemed to give Tony comfort. Even after Tony had disappeared, Steve had never broken that tradition, always sleeping on the other side of the empty bed (Although he had occasionally woken up to find that he had migrated to Tony’s side in the middle of the night). 

Reaching down, Steve grabbed the edge of the bed sheets and pulled them aside. He reached for the pillow and picked it up. 

Call Steve a lonely heart but he had never changed the pillow. It just hadn’t felt right. In fact, he hadn’t shared this bed with anyone. Even during his brief relationship with Sharon, Steve had never brought her to this room. The only person who had ever slept in this bed apart from Steve and Tony was Peter, who had often curled to with his pop when nightmares had struck. 

The pillow smelt dusty. Steve had never noticed that before. Grabbing his own pillow, Steve switched the 2. He then turned to the walk in closet and opened it, looking inside for his own sleeping clothes. 

When he turned back, pajama pants and a t-shirt in his hands, Tony was sitting on the bed. Steve smiled at the genius as Tony finally lent back, almost asleep on his feet now. Quickly, Steve changed his clothes and walked to his side of the bed. Tony was still half slumped in the bed and it didn’t take much effort to drag the semi-conscious genius fully onto the bed and into a comfortable possession. 

Throwing the sheet over Tony, Steve finally allowed himself to lie down next to his husband. Tony wiggled under the sheet, turning so his body was facing Steve. His eyes were closed and Steve could hear him sigh softly. 

Reaching over, Steve ran a hand through Tony’s dark hair. Tony’s hand reached up, grabbing at Steve’s wrist. Steve stopped, watching Tony’s face 

“Go to sleep Tony. I will be here when you wake up.” The soldier said in a soft voice. He lent forward, gently placing a kiss on the older man’s forehead. 

Satisfied, Steve watched Tony gently fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Certain people have been making assumptions about Steve's previous actions. Steve is not impressed.

Steve jolted awake, the stifling warmth shocking him into consciousness. Something was touching his side. On guard, Steve looked for the source, trying to ready himself for an attack by an unknown assailant. The solider froze as something moved next to him.

Looking to his side, Steve finally released the breath he had been holding as Tony once again shifted in his sleep. At some point, the couple had wriggled closer together and Tony, a human octopus when he slept, had reached out in his sleep and grabbed onto Steve. The shock of someone else touching him in his sleep had woken Steve in an instant.   
Thankfully, his sudden jolt hadn’t disturbed Tony, who was still sound asleep, the faint glow of his arc reactor shining through the Captain America t-shirt, lighting up the print of Steve’s shield and letting the soldier know that this was real. That Tony was here. 

Turning his head, Steve looked over at the bedside table where JARVIS’s monitor displayed the time. It was only 8:30pm. The energy surge that had brought Tony back had happened at roughly 5. That meant that 4 hours ago, Steve had still been of the belief that he would never see the other hero again. Steve smiled. Beside him, Tony moved in his sleep, his hand, which had been resting on Steve’s arm, slid off and hit the mattress. 

Slowly, taking care not to shift the mattress, Steve sat up. He wanted to stay in bed in case Tony woke up but it was well past dinner time and Steve was sure there would be a hungry teenager waiting for him (unless Peter had resorted to eating a junk food dinner again, in which case, Steve would be having words with the boy)

Climbing out of the bed, Steve made sure that the sheets were still covering Tony before stepping out of the dimly lit room. He knew that if Tony started showing signs of waking, JARVIS would alert him. 

Stepping out into the living room, Steve’s eyes fell on the person sitting on the couch. It wasn’t Peter.

“Bucky?” Steve asked. “I thought you were in Wakanda. What are you doing here?”

The former assassin turned on the couch to face Steve, placing the book he had been reading on his lap as JARVIS spoke.

“Forgive me Captain Rogers. Sargent Barnes was already in the building and would not follow my instructions to leave. He has been quiet stubborn.” The AI said. 

Steve rose an eyebrow at Bucky, who was climbing to his feet. 

“I got back yesterday. Was planning to meet up with Sam in the gym to spar today. Only someone had to call a lock down and annoying voice had to go and make it personal.” The Winter Soldier said, pointedly glaring at the neon blue strips on the wall near him. JARVIS didn’t respond. Bucky looked away, his gaze falling on Steve. “What’s going on Steve? Sam says he keeps messaging you but your phone is turned off. He’s stuck outside and pissed off. Is Peter sick again?” 

Steve groaned. 

“Bucky!” He said, annoyed at himself. Of course he knew that calling a lock down would annoy everyone. The last time Steve had done such a thing had been when a mysterious virus had been released in New York. Peter had come down with it and Steve hadn’t wanted anyone else to catch it, nor did he want to cause a panic among the Avengers when it got out that their youngest member was sick with a possibly fatal disease. Of course Peter had pulled through, but the other Avengers had been annoyed at Steve’s actions. Calling this lock down would no doubt bring that memory to the minds of most of the members. 

Sighing, Steve turned to the kitchen. He could feel Bucky’s eyes following him. 

“Peter’s fine Buck. It’s just…something has happened and I need time to process it.” He called back as he stepped towards the bench.

“Good.” Bucky called from the living room. “Because the kid seemed fine when I made dinner an hour ago.” 

“You made dinner?” Steve asked, pretending to be horrified as he spotted the half empty dish of pasta still on the stove. It looked good.

“Shut up, you punk.” Bucky replied as he made his way into the kitchen after Steve. The dark haired soldier lent against the door frame, arms crossed as he watched Steve grab a bowl and scoop a generous serve of pasta into it. 

Steve ignored his friend’s silence, taking a bite of the food. It was actually really good. Bucky may not have been anything close to a chef and had spent years as a brainwashed puppet but he could make simple foods. 

After a few more bites, Steve decided to try and break the uncomfortable silence.

“So how was Wakanda? T’Challa still playing around with those modifications to your arm?” 

Bucky remained silent, still watching Steve like a hawk. Steve met his eyes.

“The silent treatment? Really?” He asked.

Bucky simply raised an eyebrow in response. 

“You’re a jerk.” Steve said. He stepped towards the door, to leave the kitchen and take his meal to the table. Bucky casually pushed himself from the door frame, blocking Steve’s escape. Steve groaned softly. Physically, he and Bucky were roughly the same build. They were fairly evenly matched when they spared with each other, although Bucky did have an arsenal of assassin tricks which Steve had never mastered. But Bucky was also hyper aware of his own abilities, thanks to the conditioning he had endured and if Steve was to push, he had no doubt that Bucky would give in before hurting him. 

But Steve had no energy to fight Bucky today, the stress of recent events finally catching up with him. He needed to see Peter, to check on his son before going back to bed to watch over Tony. He didn’t want to get into an argument with his best friend.

“Buck please, don’t do this to me.” The captain found himself begging but Bucky was a sniper. He had waited, unmoving, for hours on end for the perfect shot. He could out wait Steve. 

Sighing, Steve placed the bowl on the bench before putting both hands over his face. He knew he had already lost.

“Tony’s back.” He whispered, soft voice muffled further by his hands. Had Bucky not been a super soldier himself, the other man would never have heard it. 

Steve could feel the atmosphere change as Bucky silence changed from teasing to stunned.

“What?” the dark haired soldier finally stammered. 

Steve dropped his hands to see his friends wide, brown eyes staring at him in shock. Bucky had never met the real Tony Stark but he had been with the Avengers (albeit reluctantly at the time, more prisoner then guest due to the threat of him being triggered into a violent rage again) when they had discovered Dooms android of Tony. Seeing Steve break down only seconds after he had been forced to bring his shield down to crush the androids head had been something Bucky had never wanted to witness, the pain that Steve had endured almost too much to bare. 

Bucky only hoped that this was not another one of those cases. He doubted Steve could survive going through that again.

Steve nodded in confirmation as Bucky finally looked away, biting his lip as he gathered his thoughts. After another moment of silence, Bucky turned back to look at his friend. 

“And I thought you were just hiding some new lover from me.” The other soldier mused, clearly trying to hide his concern for his best friend through gentle teasing. 

It was Steve’s turn to fall into stunned silence. 

“…What?” He finally stammered, voice strained in surprise. 

“Steve, you ordered a lock down, turned your phone off and was in bed at 7pm. What else was I supposed to think except you were either sick or getting some action?”

Steve was speechless at that. 

Bucky smiled softly, finally stepping out of the doorway. A surprisingly warm metal arm landed on Steve’s shoulder. 

“Are you doing ok?” Bucky asked, voice finally turning serious as he studied his friend. 

Steve nodded, looking down at the bench. After a moment that metal arm pulled Steve forward, Bucky wrapping both arms around his friend in comfort for a few moments before the dark haired soldier let go, stepping back. 

The cheeky grin was back on Bucky’s face. 

“I guess you will want some private time to get re-acquainted with your infamous husband.” The dark haired man said. “Don’t let me keep you.”

Turning, Bucky ducked out of the kitchen as Steve looked around for something to throw at him. Shaking his head, Steve followed him out to the living room, watching as Bucky collected his bag and placed the book he had left on the couch on a near-by book shelf. 

“Bucky.” Steve said. 

Bucky turned to look at his friend, his back pack slung over his shoulder.

“Please don’t say anything about this to anyone yet. This is going to be huge and I am not sure how Tony will deal with all the attention while he is still getting used to everything.”

Bucky seemed to process this for a moment.

“You know you can’t hide him forever, right?” he asked, looking Steve in the eyes. 

“I know. Just give me a few days. For his sake.” Steve replied. 

Bucky nodded. Then he looked down. Steve watched as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, the screen lit up. Bucky quickly turned it off and slid it back into his jacket.

“I had better go find Sam before he gets any smart ideas about flying up here and breaking in himself.” The other soldier said, taking a step towards the door. “And don’t worry. I won’t tell him anything.”

Steve felt his shoulders drop in relief. 

“Thanks Buck.” 

“Take care of yourself Steve.” The other soldier replied, his voice going suddenly flat. The dark haired man turned and walked towards the lift. JARVIS was already waiting, the doors to the lift already open. The moment Bucky was inside the metal room, the doors slid closed, taking Steve’s friend away. 

Finally allowing himself to relax, Steve turned to his main priority, Peter. 

Ignoring Bucky’s pasta growing cold in the kitchen, the hero made his way to his son’s room. The door was closed but not locked, light visible between the cracks. 

Raising his hand, Steve knocked, three solid taps. He had learnt over the years that simply barging into Peter’s room unannounced was sure to embarrass both of them. 

There was no reply. After a moment, Steve pressed his ear to the door. Maybe Peter had already gone to sleep? That wouldn’t be like the teen. Peter was a night owl, who had been known to habitually fall asleep long after his pops had gone to bed. 

There was a faint sound, like the tapping of fingers on a keyboard. Steve decided to risk it, pushing the door open and peeking in. 

Peter was lying on his stomach on his unmade bed, his laptop before him as he typed away. A set of headphones were on his head, muffling any noise in the room. 

“Peter?” Steve called, pushing the door further open. The teen’s fingers stopped their complex dance over the surface of the keyboard as Peter registered the sound. The teenager turned his head to the door, seeing Steve standing there. One hand reached up, shifting a side of the headphones so Peter could hear, the teens other hand going to the laptops touch pad to bring up a screen and pause the video Pete had been listening to. It was one of Peter’s recorded MIT lectures. 

Pushing the laptop away, Peter sat up on the bed, finally hooking the headphones around his neck. 

“Pops?” The teen said.

“Got a minute?” Steve asked as he watched Peter re-arrange himself to sit comfortably on the bed. 

Peter shrugged. Steve took that as in indication he could sit. Stepping into the room, Steve quickly glanced around. Unlike the rest of the townhouse, this room had changed a lot over the years, from the little boy’s room with robot stickers on the walls and glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, it was now a darker blue. Posters of movies and pictures of the Avengers were hung on the wall, along with a few certificates and photographs Peter had taken. A desk in the corner was piled with action figures and comics that Peter had collected over the years and even a few trophies were visible on the shelves above Peter’s bed, alongside his prized camera. The blue sensor that was JARVIS’s eyes and ears in the house were still visible on the walls but apart from that, it was almost completely different from the room Steve and Tony had decorated years ago. 

Walking to the bed, Steve sat down next to Peter, watching as Peter shifted to keep his balance as the mattress moved suddenly under Steve’s weight. 

“How are you dealing, Pete?” Steve asked, looking over at the dark haired teenager. 

“Fine pops.” Peter said back, almost too fast. Steve looked at him. Peter was staring into the distance, absentmindedly fiddling with the metal bracelet on his wrist. It had been something Peter had built for himself, an Avengers communicator linked to JARVIS, disguised as a friendship bracelet so it wouldn’t attract attention. Peter had designed it when he had first become Spiderman and still in school, to allow him to know when he was needed by the Avengers. Even now that he was no longer in school, Peter still wore it out of habit.

“Peter.”

Peter turned, letting his hand drop from his wrist.

“I’m fine.” The teen insisted. “Dad’s back and everything is fine.”

Steve met his sons brown eyes. He knew, probably better than anyone, just how stubborn the younger hero could be. If it weren’t for that stubbornness, Spiderman would never had existed. Peter had a drive to help people, regardless of his father’s orders, the Avengers instructions or even his own well-being. It made him almost frighteningly similar to Tony at times. And like Tony, Peter didn’t like to admit when he was feeling bad. 

A lifetime of experience meant Steve already knew he was not going to get anything more than another sonic ‘I’m fine’ if he pressed anymore tonight. Maybe it was better to give Peter his space, let him digest everything now that Steve was sure the boy wasn’t crying into his pillow.

Like he had done with Tony back in Bruce’s lab, Steve reached forward, pulling Peter into a hug. The teen, realising what was going on, made a show of trying to struggle out of Steve’s grip but Steve knew Peter, and knew the difference between the boy putting up a fight for show and actually physically wanting to escape. After a few moments, Peter went limp.

“Pops!” The teen said with a muffled groan.

“I just want a hug Pete. Can’t you let an old man have that?” Steve asked.

“You’re not old, you’re 41.” Peter protested.

The younger hero had wiggled in Steve’s grip, his voice now almost completely illegible with his face pressed against the soldier’s chest. Steve let him go, hiding his smile as Peter fell back onto the bed, dramatically pretending to gasp for air. 

“Smartass.” Steve said fondly as Peter grinned. 

Standing up, Steve turned to face the teenager. 

“I’ll leave you to finish your lectures now Peter. If you need to talk or want anything, tell JARVIS and he will wake me up.”

“POPS!” Peter said in a high voice, almost jumping off the bed.

“What?” Steve asked, surprised at Peter’s sudden action.

“I get that Dad’s back but…jeeze!” 

Steve froze, suddenly realising what Peter was implying.

“No! Not that….” The soldier ran his hand through his hair. He groaned. “First Bucky, then you!” He said accusingly as Peter’s face turned red.

“Pops, Dad’s just come back and you are going to bed early. What do you expect us to think?” the teen asked. 

Steve stared at him for a moment, unsure how to continue this conversation. 

“Well….Wake me if you…if you need me.” The soldier stammered before making a hasty retreat from the room.

“Good night Pops!” Peter called after him as the door closed. 

Steve didn’t see, as the door slammed closed, the smile on Peter’s face disappear. The dark haired teen stared at the door, worried for his father and for what would happen in the future now that Tony Stark was back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hopefully that is the last of the build up chapters (I think. Who knows) Next chapter we will be going back to Tony and what is going on in his head and maybe some other Avengers will turn up. (Again, who knows.)
> 
> Also, I apologise in advance for any odd terms or phrases (or even spelling) used in this story. I believe a lot of people on this site are American but I'm not, so there are certain phrases and sayings I use that I know are not used in America. I have tried to stop myself from using them because this is obviously set in America (Except for that weird 'z' replacing 's' thing or not using 'u' in certain words because I refuse to change that much) and there are certain things I say which would be out of place but...There is only so much I can do by myself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony beings to catch up with everything that happened since 2014, and Peter finally has to let go of his mental image of Tony and begin to accept the real one.

Coming back to consciousness slowly, Tony let the situation wash over him. He was in the future. 11 years to be precise. 

11 years of Avengers Missions, of Stark Industry parties. 11 years of being with his friends and saving the world. 11 years of watching Peter grow up and just being with his family.

He had missed all that. 

There were many expletives Tony could use right now, none of them quiet fitting the situation (Or being the sort of language Steve would remotely approve of)

Signing, Tony opened his eyes. 

It must be early morning. Steve was asleep next to him, the soldiers face only inches from Tony’s, instead of out for his daily morning run (Did Steve even do those anymore? Tony honestly didn’t know what habits his husband had kept up with since he had been gone). The blond man looked totally relaxed, a rare enough occurrence for Steve with their highly stressful lives. 

Given how rare it was that Tony would wake before Steve (At least, in those few times when they went to sleep together and Tony wasn’t hard pressed to get back to one of his projects as soon as he woke) these rare mornings together were when Tony took the time to experiment on his husband, finding more and more interesting and pleasant ways to wake the soldier up, whether it was kisses to the neck of the ever popular hand down his pants. 

This situation was perfect for that. And yet, Tony couldn’t. Maybe it was because his sleep addled brain was desperately trying to speed up, to continue processing all that had happened to him. Or maybe it was the little differences Tony could see in his husband.

The Super Soldier Serum had certainly been affective. Steve did not look like a man in his 40’s let alone a man who was technically in his 90s. But there were subtle signs of aging. Signs that Tony couldn’t help but pick up on now that he had Steve relaxed next to him.

There were lines in the corners of Steve’s eyes. Not wrinkles, but definite signs of age and stress. Signs of a hard life. There was a scar on Steve’s cheek. Tony knew a lot about the Super Solider experiment, partly from what Howard Stark had deemed adequate bedtime stories those rare instances when Tony’s mother had tried to force father and son to bond and partly from necessity when he had Steve had first gotten together and Tony needed, for his own sanity, to know how the man worked. 

Tony knew that part of Steve’s enhanced healing meant that scaring was very rare unless Steve was very badly hurt. This injury, nothing more than a faint line on Steve’s face, only visible in the faint light, would have been a horrific injury to leave such a mark. 

And then there was the grey hairs. They weren’t really noticeable, mostly hidden among the blond strands at Steve’s temples, but Tony could see them now. 

Tony couldn’t really judge. He had started going grey when he was 26, and only a routine hair dye hid the truth from the media.

Still, it was a shock to see. Steve was not the sort of person to worry about his physical appearance, and Tony bet he had never even entertained the thought of dying his hair but Tony had expected to at least see the subtle change over the years. Not just have it shoved in his face like this. 

Sighing, Tony slowly rose to his feet, careful to avoid waking Steve. 

Despite the light of the arc reactor, the room was still dark, Tony making his way to the door by memory rather than sight, slipping out of the room and into the hallway.  
The inventor’s bare feet brushed the soft carpet as he made his way out to the living area. Reaching the doorway, Tony froze, looking out into the living area. He had been too tired, too stresses to process the night before when Steve had walked him through to their bedroom, to get a good look at the once familiar room. But now in the early morning light, Tony could see it. 

Tony’s knees felt weak as he looked around the room that was so familiar yet so different. The couch wasn’t the one he knew, the one where he had curled up with Steve during movie nights or Peter when the boy was being fussy. The art on the wall wasn’t the print he had bought, but rather photographs he was unfamiliar with. The bookshelf had moved from one end of the room to the other. All these differences, no matter how subtle, were screaming at Tony with how wrong they were. This wasn’t his living room. This wasn’t his home. 

He needed to get back. To get to his Steve, to his Peter. To his friends and family. 

But no. That wasn’t possible. There was no going back. Tony was trapped here. 

Closing his eyes, Tony tried to concentrate on his breathing, a deep breath in, hold, then release. 

After a few moments of just breathing, he felt the strength in his knees return. Forcing his eyes open, Tony took a step into the room, trying to ignore the eerie feel of being here. 

On the opposite side of the room was the wall of glass panels, leading out onto the long balcony that Tony had turned into his landing strip for his amour. And there, by the door, was the small bar Tony had installed long ago, the very place where Tony had faced down Loki during the Avengers first team up, right before the god had thrown him out of the window, expecting him to perish from the fall. 

It wasn’t a pleasant memory, yet Tony held onto it because it was real, it had happened and Tony had survived. Looking away, Tony turned to face the couch. He blinked at the flash of metal resting on the seat. 

Reaching down, he grabbed the item and held it up. 

It was a Stark Phone. So very similar to the one….No. It couldn’t be.

Flipping the phone over, Tony almost dropped the device in shock. Engraved in the metal back of the phone was a symbol, one Tony knew very well as he had been the one who had engraved it there. 

A circle, cut in half. Half a star was in the middle of the left half, two circles surrounding it in a copy of Steve’s shield and the other half was a perfect half picture of the Arc Reactor. 

Below the design was the name ‘Steve Rogers’. 

Tony knew this phone. He had made it especially for Steve. But Steve had never been good with smartphones. He had broken so many before Tony had made this one. How could Steve still have it after 11 years?

“JARVIS?” Tony called, turning the phone around to study it. He felt like he was going crazy. 

“Yes Sir.” JARVIS replied, awaiting Tony’s question.

“How is this still here?” Tony asked, finally looking up from the phone to glance at the blue lights on the nearest wall. “How, after 11 years, does he still have this?”

“Sir, if you are referring to the Captains phone, I believe he has had it replaced several times due to damage. Miss Potts has been kind enough to replace each model with an exact copy of the original phone, despite Stark Industries discontinuing the model several years ago. The Captain has been changing the back plate of each phone himself to keep the engraving.”

Tony swallowed. Of course. He was stupid to think this was the original. 

Pressing the power button, Tony turned the device on. He waited a few moments until the phone flashed, displaying the lock screen. 

Tony could remember back when he had first introduced computers to Steve, he had needed to explain the use of lock screens to the soldier. Amused by Steve’s bewilderment, he had made a joke that Steve should use his mother’s name as the passcode so he would always remember it. It had been one of the first times Tony had realised just how innocent Steve had been, when the man had taken his joke literally, his password for all his devices becoming the same thing. 

He hadn’t changed it in the 4 years Tony had known him. It would be interesting to see if he had now.

Gripping the phone in both hands, Tony typed in the name ‘Sarah’. He waited for a moment as the device processed he command before the phone flashed again, allowing access to the main screen. Tony grinned. It was nice that some things hadn’t changed.

Steve’s background picture had changed. Last time Tony had hacked into the phone 11 years ago, it had been a candid shot of Tony himself with 5 year old Peter asleep with his head on Tony’s shoulder. Now the picture was different. It was of Steve, standing next to a grinning, almost adult Peter. 

Tony found himself blinking back an unexpected tear. 

Suddenly, the phone went ballistic in his hands, vibrating as messages and missed call alerts flashed across the screen. Someone named Sam had been desperate to get into contact with Steve. 

Tony wracked his memory. He didn’t know anyone called Sam, at least not a close friend. Was this Sam a friend of Steve’s? A SHIELD agent or new Avenger? Tony honestly didn’t know. 

Ignoring the sudden urge to look through Steve’s contacts, Tony placed the phone down and ran a hand across his face. He looked back at the Blue lights.

“JARVIS?” He said.

“Yes Sir?” the AI replied.

“I’ve missed 11 years. I think I have a lot of catching up to do, don’t you?”

“Of course sir. I have taken the liberty of putting together a briefing packet for you on the things you have missed. Shell we begin?”

Tony took a step back and let his body fall into the couch. He looked up at the television secured to the wall, which was already on and waiting.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

\------

Peter awoke suddenly, blood rushing to his head as he sat up too fast, blinking at his surroundings. He was on his bed, still fully dressed, meaning he must have fallen asleep at his computer again. 

Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, the teenager noticed the laptop which he had just been using as a pillow. Quickly, he studied the keyboard to make sure he hadn’t drooled on it. His hand brushed the touch pad. 

The laptop screen flashed as the device awoke from sleep mode, showing the last thing Peter had been watching.

Oh yes. Peter remembered what he had been doing.

After his Pop’s aborted attempt at a heart to heart, Peter had been unable to concentrate on his lectures so he had started watching old home videos instead.

Steve had asked JARVIS to compile the series of videos years ago, when Peter had first started asking about Tony. Peter himself had admitted to Steve that he had very few memories of his Dad, being far too young to remember much except a deep voice and a hug that seemed to last for years. 

Peter had memorised those videos that JARVIS had recorded for him, trying to remember Tony’s mannerisms and habits until the memories he did have had become mingled with the images he constantly watched and he could finally feel like Tony Stark had been a part of his life. 

Still, Peter was unsure how to deal with the fact that there was a living, breathing Tony Stark somewhere in the building. Peter had done his best to be someone Tony would be proud of, an heir to Iron Man. Admittedly, getting bitten by a radioactive spider had not been part of the plan but Peter had hope that in a way, Tony would have loved it. 

Peter had often had dreams where Tony hadn’t disappeared, where he had discovered Peter’s double life long before his Pops and the rest of the Avengers had unmasked the teenage hero. In his dreams, Tony had laughed and then dragged Peter down to the lab where together, they had designed and build new Web shooters so Peter could continue his double life. The two of them thinking of clever ways for Peter to avoid the Avengers attention and covering each other in battle. He had always hoped that Tony would have been in his corner during those few volatile weeks where Steve and the rest of his aunts and uncles had done their best to keep him from his duties. 

But Tony hadn’t reacted as Peter had hoped when Peter had shown him his powers. Instead of a look of pride, Tony had looked horrified as he witnessed the display of Peter’s abilities. 

That had hurt more than Peter was willing to admit, seeing his Dad react like that. It was like everything he thought he had known about Tony Stark had been wrong. It was a slap in the face. Sure, Tony had tried to rectify it, even pulling Peter into a hug, so much like the one he remembered, back in the lab. 

But Peter needed time to digest this, to get his head around this real Tony, not the one from his imagination. 

Sitting back on the bed, Peter collected his study notes and moved them into a neat-ish pile next to the computer. The teenager stood up and picked everything up, moving the collection to the overflowing desk. He would have to clean up soon, before Pops decided to say something. 

Peter’s stomach growled. Sighing, Peter left his room. 

It was still early morning, his Pops either asleep or out for a run, so Peter could probably get away with sneaking into the kitchen and getting a bowl of that sugary cereal that Clint had hidden in the cupboard for Peter after Steve voiced his objection to his son eating it. 

Stepping into the living room, Peter froze. 

Sitting on the couch like a ghost, was Tony Stark. In his hands, Peter could see his Pops phone, which Tony was fidgeting with and one of his knees was bouncing in place. Other than that he was still, his face blank as he watched the tv. 

For a moment Peter thought about going back to his room. He knew at some point he was going to have to talk to Tony but what did you say to someone you hardly knew?

Peter sighed. 

The noise was enough to catch Tony’s attention, the older hero long since losing interest in JARVIS’s presentation. He turned, spotting Peter by the door.

“Hi Pete.” Tony greeted, giving a little smile. The boy didn’t move. 

Tony turned back to look at the tv.

“Did you know they made a new Ghostbusters?” The genius asked. “I mean, I knew there was going to be a new Star Wars but I didn’t expect Disney to make 6 more. Not to mention the spinoffs. And the new Star Trek series. And another Independence Day. I have got a lot of catching up to do.”

“Um, yeah.” Peter replied. He wanted to talk to Tony, he really did. He just didn’t want to get into the personal. “The Ghostbusters one was really controversial if I remember right.”

“Why?” Tony asked. “All female cast sounds awesome to me. And they were remaking everything anyway. Not like Ghostbusters should have been immune if they were going to remake the Golden Age of Disney into that live action grab for cash.”

“Yeah…” Peter replied. 

“Also, what the hell happened to Kanya West? Last time I dealt with him, he was trying to bully Stark Industry into giving him a 3 million dollar bail out and insisting that he was going to be the next Avenger. And now I find he tried to run for President?” 

“I think he was trying to follow Trump’s example.”

Tony snorted. 

“Don’t even talk to me about Donnie. That jerk still owes me $60 from that time at the Met Gala.”

Peter had to bite his lip to stop himself laughing at that one. He had seen a few videos of Tony Stark from before he was Iron Man, despite his Pops attempt to hide them from him. He knew that Pre-Iron Man Tony Stark had been a party playboy and serial pest to those around him. He could only imagine what an ego like that could get up to unchecked at any social event, especially when pitted against another huge ego.

After a moment, Peter realised his Dad had gone silent. Peter met the older heroes gaze. 

“So it looks like I’ve got some catching up to do. You up for a movie marathon? Unless of course, Steve totally betrayed me and raised you on Rom-Coms and not Sci-fi.”

Peter ducked his head, suddenly remembering who he was talking too. It was weird feeling shy around his own dad.

“I’ve got lectures to catch up on.” The teen muttered. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend time with Tony, it was just that he didn’t really know if he could yet. 

Without another word, Peter turned and made his way into the kitchen. Unearthing a bowl, the teen then began the hunt for his cereal. 

“That’s cool. It will take over a week to get through everything I want to see anyway. JARVIS and I did the maths already.” Tony said from behind Peter, making the dark haired teen jump in surprise. How had he gotten behind Peter without triggering his spidersenses? 

“It will take approximately 8 days and 13 hours and 41 minutes to get through Sir’s current list, taking into consideration bathroom stops and 3 hours a night set aside for sleep.” JARVIS’s voice added as Peter turned, box of cereal in one hand, still surprised by Tony’s sudden appearance in the kitchen. 

“Exactly. So it’s going to take a while to plan the food and get the movies downloaded anyway. Whenever you are ready, let me know.”

Ignoring Peter’s still stunned expression, the older man reached up and took the box from Peter’s hands. Opening a cupboard, he unearthed a second bowl and placed it next to Peters. Quickly he filled both bowls with cereal and handed the box back to the still boy before turning to the fridge. 

Peter watched as Tony rummaged around in the fridge for a moment before finding the milk to complete his task. A bowl full of cereal was shoved into Peter’s free hand.

“Don’t tell your father.” Tony said with a knowing wink. 

Peter looked down at the bowl Tony had thrust into his hand. After a moment, he turned, placing the box of cereal on the bench next to the antique bread box Steve had placed there to destroy Tony’s modern aesthetic kitchen. 

After a moment Peter collected a spoon and began to eat, the silence of eating far more comfortable then the silence from before. 

Beside him Tony also ate, seeming to enjoy the super sweet cereal. 

For a few minutes the two stood side by side in the kitchen, eating the forbidden cereal. 

Then Tony suddenly froze. 

Peter turned to look at his dad, wondering what was going on. Tony suddenly moved, snatching Peter’s bowl from him and moving to the cupboard. Both bowls were quickly hidden from sight before Tony dived back to the bench. The genius grabbed the box of cereal and tucked it behind the counter. 

Then the dark haired man turned. 

“Well, capsicles finally up.” Tony said, grin plastered on his face. “Decided hibernation is not doing it for you this year sweetie?”

Peter turned. Standing at the doorway was Steve, the super soldier looking at Tony like he was relieved to see him. 

“I thought you were just a dream.” Steve said. “I woke up and there was no one beside me.”

“Sorry Babe.” Tony replied, stepping away from Peter to press himself against Steve’s slightly bulkier form. Steve responded by wrapping his arms around the dark haired man. 

“What were you two doing?” Steve asked, looking at Peter as he rested his cheek against Tony’s temple.

“Nothing Pops.” Peter said. 

“Oh?” Steve replied, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. 

Letting go of Tony, Steve turned to leave the kitchen. 

“I’m going for a run. That box of cereal had better be in the bin when I get back.” He shot over his shoulder before grabbing his phone from the couch and heading back to the bedroom to change into his exercise clothes. He sent Sam a text to see if the man wanted to join him on his run. 

Behind him, he heard Tony stammer.

“But? How?” There was a pause then “Traitor!” 

“I apologise Sir but the Captain requested your exact whereabouts when he couldn’t find you this morning.” JARVIS replied. 

Steve grinned as he closed the bedroom door, muffling Tony’s comeback remark. Lost in his happiness, he didn’t notice the urgent voice mail from Bruce, asking that Steve contact him immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And ending it on a touch of foreboding. Next chapter Sam makes his appearance and Tony may not be dealing with everything as well as we thought so stay tuned.


	4. Chapter 4

“So what’s gotten into you today?” Sam Wilson asked between gasps for breath. Sweat was dripping off his face and his running clothes were soaked through. 

“What do you mean?” Steve asked. Unlike his friend, he wasn’t fighting so hard to gain his breath but he was still a little sweaty from his run. 

The two men had been doing their usual laps around Central Park, a daily habit which had at first drawn media attention to the 2 Avengers but was now a fixed event that most just ignored. A few years ago, when Sam had first moved from Washington to New York to be closer to the team in case of emergencies he and Steve would only have been able to speak together when running, so swamped by fans once they finished that any form of communication was impossible until they returned to either the mansion or the tower. 

Now however, apart from the occasional young fan, they were mainly left alone. Sometimes they still draw a crowd, when Bucky or Pietro or one amusing time Scott Lang, joined them but Scott detested running, Bucky preferred other forms of fitness and Pietro had his own running routines. 

“I mean, normally you have the courtesy to at least pretend I can keep up with you for the first few laps. Today you were going all T-1000 on me.” The dark skinned man said, falling down on a comfortable stretch of grass.

“A Terminator joke?” Steve asked. “Really.”

“You got the reference.” Sam pointed out. 

Steve shrugged and studied his surroundings. Sam had never stopped trying to add to Steve’s catch up list ever since he had met the man 8 years before when Sam had been nothing more than a civilian caught in the crossfire between Steve and Hydra’s plan for the Winter Solder.

“But all jokes aside, Bucky told me.” Sam continued. 

“What?” Steve asked, turning to look at Sam.

“About the new Boyfriend. Gotta say, I am happy you are finally putting yourself out there again after Sharon didn’t work out.” Sam replied. 

“Bucky told you I have a boyfriend?” Steve asked, disbelief on his face.

“Yeah. I guess you were trying to keep it under wraps for a little while but putting the tower into lockdown was a little extreme. I’m not one to judge your love life but maybe give us a heads up next time. I think I annoyed JARVIS more than is safe. That AI of yours has got a mean streak. ”

“It’s Tony’s AI.” Steve replied automatically. The blond man bit his lip. He had already ordered that Tony’s return be kept a secret, an order which he had already broken once. But it would be so good to tell people that his husband was back. And Sam was one of his closest friends. 

Sam shrugged, not noticing Steve’s hesitation.

“It’s been 11 years now. Not like Starks’ going to come back from the dead any time soon to claim him.”

That did it. Steve turned to face Sam, to tell him about Tony’s return. 

Something on Steve’s leg started to vibrate. Steve looked down. Reaching into the cleverly concealed pocket of his running pants, Steve unearthed his phone and held it up, recognising Bruce’s number. Steve blinked. Bruce rarely ever called, preferring to talk in person if he could.

“Excuse me.” He said to Sam before turning away. He accepted the call and raised the device to his ear. “Doctor Banner.” He said in greeting.

“Steve, thank god. Are you at the tower?” Bruce said on the other end of the line. His voice was oddly frantic.

Steve blinked.

“No, I’m out for a run. Why?” He asked, not sure why Bruce had contacted him but already feeling traces of worry. If Bruce was calling, then something must have been wrong.

“My god. Please tell me Tony isn’t outside with you.” Bruce replied. Steve could hear the panic building in his voice by the second. 

“No, he’s back at the tower.” Steve answered.

“Then I’m not too late. Steve, Tony cannot leave the tower. If he does, he could die!”

Steve felt the bottom drop out of his world. 

“What?”

“Listen to me Captain. I am heading to the tower now but you need to get JARVIS to put de-contamination protocols in place right away. You were right to call a lock down last night. Tony cannot be exposed to the outside world yet or we will lose him again.”

“What are you talking about Bruce?” Steve asked. He was clutching his phone too hard and could feel the solid plastic starting to give under his grip. 

“Just…get to the tower. I will explain there.”

The phone went dead, Bruce hanging up on Steve. Still in shock, Steve lowered the phone and turned around. Despite the mild weather, he suddenly felt cold. 

He turned to look back at his friend. Sam had been approached by two little girls who were talking animatedly to the Avenger. Both of them were dressed as fairies but one of them was clutching a doll. A doll decorated in a distinctive red and gold pattern. 

Without thinking, Steve turned and ran towards the car park, ignoring his protesting muscles as he headed towards the generic black car that he had driven to the park in. It was the style of car that Coulson had insisted the Avengers use when driving from place to place to try and avoid media attention.

Throwing himself into the driver’s seat, Steve ignored the sound of Sam shouting his name as he started the engine and threw the vehicle into gear, racing out of the parking lot and back to the tower.

\------

“JARVIS, Lights.” Tony ordered as he stepped into the workshop. Seamlessly, the lights flickered on, illuminating the room. 

He had decided to see what damage had been done to his lab after Steve had left for his run. Peter, despite the headway they had made in the kitchen, had become mute the moment Steve had left the penthouse, retreating back to his room without another word to Tony and taking the cereal with him. Tony had looked around the living area again and even gone into the master bedroom to explore. 

At some point, Steve much have cleared out the bedroom of most of Tony’s clothes. All the shirts and pants in the walk in robe were in Steve’s size and more to the Super Soldiers taste. But rummaging through his husbands clothes, Tony had unearthed a few sentimental treasures. One of his business suits (the very one Tony had worn in their low-key wedding, in that little court house in Washington, when they had been giddy and wanting to do something crazy without the media crawling all over them) and his favourite Metallica shirt had been hanging up at the back of the closet, Steve clearly too sentimental to get rid of them. Tony had thought about changing into the shirt but decided against it, the blue Captain America shirt he had fallen asleep in would do fine until he could go and get more clothes.

Tony had then left the bedroom and gone back to the living room to set his list of movies and tv shows to catch up on. He was particularly looking forward to the Spielberg/Hanks production ‘The Commandos’. Apparently in 2018 the two had decided to cap off their war dramas after Band of Brothers and The Pacific with a dramatic re-telling of Steve’s old WW2 team. (God, Tony hoped Steve got involved with the making of that show. Tony would murder him if he hadn’t.)

Then, at a loss of what to do next, Tony had made his way down to his old workshop. He had noticed the changes in passing the night before but he had been dazed and confused by the sudden Time Skip and hadn’t really had a change to process it. Now seemed like the best time. 

In the far corner of the huge room that had been Tony’s personal safe haven, Tony could see his suits in their cases, greeting him like old friends. The lights showing the brilliant red and gold that was the genius’s signature colour. That at least, hadn’t changed too much.

In the middle of the room was Tony’s old workshop, the benches (Which, Tony noted, had been moved since he had last seen them) surrounding a clear area of floor where JARVIS’ 3D projectors could focus to help Tony visualise his designs. On the surrounding walls were the vast array of tools, always at hand when he (or anyone else) needed them. Of course, there was the new and complex looking tools that Tony hadn’t placed there (And Tony was already itching to start trying to figure them out) A new computer monitor and sitting in a metal bracket was some sort of device that Tony didn’t recognise. There were even a few tools surrounding it, suggesting someone had been working on it just recently. There was a chair by that bench, not one that Tony had ever used. There was also a small fridge with bio-hazard symbols on it, tucked under the desk. 

Thankfully, the old couch that Tony had placed in the workshop as a bed whenever he got caught up in too much work was still there in all its singed and oil stained glory. Unlike the one in the living room. Had Steve decided to replace it or remove it in Tony’s decade long absence, Tony would have no problem punching his husband in his perfect face. There were few things Tony Stark would lose his shit over and that couch was one of them, along with anyone trying to mess with his suits or threaten his family.

Tucked next to the couch were three sad little piles of metal. Tony felt his mouth go dry as he looked at the dormant robots that had been his assistants. 

“JARVIS, why are the gang asleep?” Tony asked, walking over to the piles. Reaching up, he gripped DUM-Y’s metal arm and gave it a tug. It moved slightly under his hand.

“After you were declared dead in 2015, the Captain decided that the workshop should be locked up until further use could be made of the area. Your robots were deactivated as a kindness on the Captains part.”

Tony swallowed.

“Makes sense. When did the workshop get opened again, and why weren’t the boys re-activated?”

“The workshop was re-opened on Master Peter’s 13th Birthday for his personal use. Master Peter did not express a wish to have them re-activated to assist him.”

Tony nodded. 

“Well, Daddy’s home now. I am not letting them be lazy on my watch. Begin re-boot sequence.”

“Of course Sir.”

Satisfied that JARVIS would handle the robots, Tony made his way to the work bench and the mysterious device waiting there. 

“Is this one of Pete’s designs?” He asked, bending down to study it. It was a small, metal circle attached to a leather cuff, with a pinkish circle in the middle that seemed to be full of liquid. A thin piece of metal was attached to one end that seemed to curve slightly downwards before becoming flat.

“Yes Sir. Those are Master Peter’s web shooters.” The AI replied as Tony lightly tapped at the flat piece of metal. 

Suddenly, a whitish cord was propelled out of the device, narrowly missing Tony’s hand before hitting the wall and sticking there. 

“When triggered, it releases an adhesive fiber similar to a Spider Web which Master Peter can use in combat and Sir, unless you wish to spend the next few hours stuck to the wall, I suggest you stop playing with it.”

“Attitude JARVIS.” Tony replied but he did put the web shooter down. The genius turned to study the webbing still attached to the wall. 

“Is this SI tech?” He finally asked, prodding the white mess carefully. 

“The initial concept was from Oscorp but Master Peter has used Stark resources to refine the idea.” JARVIS replied. 

“He stole this from Norman? Attaboy.” Tony replied, grinning. Who knew his little boy would go up to become a genius thief.

“Sir, I feel now is the time to inform you that Norman Osborn is dead.”

Tony froze. He may not have liked Osborn, who had been an arrogant piece of work, but he didn’t wish the man dead. Well, no more then he would wish Justin Hammer dead.  
“How?” He finally asked, turning to study the web shooter again. It really was an ingenious design.

“In 2019, Norman Osborn was diagnosed with Retroviral Hypodisplasia. He put considerable resources into combating the genetic disease, including a brief partnership with Stark Industry. However, an attempt to cure him turned him into the villain known as The Green Goblin. He was defeated by Spider Man during one of Spider Mans last battles before joining the Avengers and Osborn was killed.”

“Well shit.” Tony muttered. Turning from the work bench, the genius made his way to the couch and sat down. A metal arm reached over and lay down on Tony’s lap. The hero patted it affectionately as the newly activated robot rolled closer to its creator. 

“I feel lost JARVIS.” Tony finally admitted, looking up at the bright lights on the ceiling. “I always thought as a Futurist, I could deal with anything but now that I am here, I can’t wrap my head around it. There are new Avengers, Osborn’s dead and I’ve missed my son’s childhood. How the hell do I process all that?”

“You are in shock Sir.” JARVIS replied. 

Tony laughed. It wasn’t a nice laugh.

"Starks don’t get shocked JARVIS, you know that.” He replied.

“Sir, I have watched you for years and I can confirm that you indeed do get shocked. The Captain can attest to that. If you would like, I can call him to assist you.” The AI stated. 

Tony’s eyes fell on the projection screen that was his computer. Unlike the old fashioned monitor someone, probably Peter, had put on the bench next to the web shooter, this one was familiar to him. The lost feeling suddenly replaced with determination. Pushing You off his lap, the genius quickly stood up. 

“Starks don’t get shocked J, they get even. That’s what my old man used to say.” He stated, turning to the computer. 

“So let’s figure out how the hell I got here. JARVIS, bring up the readings for the lab at the time I appeared and you had better have stored the readings from when I disappeared in 2014 or so help me, I am wiping you and letting FRIDAY have a run. Also get me Bruce’s notes from last night’s medical. He’s got to have stored them somewhere. And Richards notes too if you can find them. You lot…” 

He turned and pointed to his newly activated robots.

“Get me a drink. Non-alcoholic as daddy’s working.”

He turned back, running his hands along the pad to activate the keyboard as the nearest 3D Projector screen flickered to life. 

“I want all the current theories on Time Travel and its effect on the human body. Exclude any studies involving Steve as the Super Soldier serum won’t give me accurate data.”

He cracked his fingers, getting ready to type. 

“And just for the hell of it, let’s hack SHIELD again.”


	5. Chapter 5

It was as fact known to very few people that the Avengers Tower had two entrances. Officially, the building was still property of Stark Industry and as such, the bottom floors were devoted to the companies R&D division and a few of the less often used office spaces.

Those floors were accessible through the lifts in the main entrance, the one which had the words STARK painted across it in bold letters. 

Then there was the other entrance, only accessible through the private underground car park by a select few who knew of its existence. JARVIS personally vetted every single person who entered the building to ensure no one with hostile intentions managed to get near the Avengers and that second door was guarded even further. If any unauthorised person managed to make it through the doors and into the secondary entrance, they would find themselves in a plain white room, with only a single door to the elevator to the upper floors, which was again, only accessible with permission from JARVIS. 

It was Steve’s habit, after his morning run, to enter the tower through the main entrance. After Tony had been declared dead in 2015, Steve had found he liked to do a walk through R&D. It had been Tony’s playground back in the early days after he had made Pepper CEO of his company, and Steve had always felt Tony’s presence there after losing him. Being in the workshop with the Iron Man suits had hurt too much but in R&D, with the constant presence of the engineers and scientists Pepper employed, it felt better.

Over the years, he had become a regular visitor to the branch of Stark Industry, learning the stories of the people who worked there and watching their successes and failures. Peter too had often found himself in the branch, learning from the men and women employed by the company and bouncing ideas off them that could later be used for Avengers work. It was a place where both father and son could relax a little, away from the media and their lives as heroes. More often than not, it was also Steve’s change to catch up with Happy Hogan. 

Happy had been Tony’s bodyguard and driver for years before Steve had awoken from the ice and one of his closest friends. Happy could be counted as one of the few people who had never betrayed Tony and Steve knew that Happy would take a bullet for Tony if needed. 

Tony in return had cared deeply for the man who had sworn to protect him and had often found ways to reward him. He had known how Happy had been affected by the kidnapping in Afghanistan and Tony becoming Iron Man and had done what he could to help the man. When Tony had decided he had no longer needed a bodyguard, instead of laying off Happy, he had promoted the man to head of security for Stark Industry with the direct instructions to act as Bodyguard to Pepper. 

Steve often wondered if Tony, ever protective of those he dubbed family, had seen the spark between the two before anyone else had. No doubt he would have laughed and laughed when Pepper and Happy had finally gotten engaged.

And that protectiveness had been returned in kind. Steve could still remember, not long after the battle against Loki in New York and the Avengers first team up when Steve and Tony had still been dancing around each other, lost somewhere between enemies and lovers, that Happy had seen it as his duty to corner Steve and read him the riot act. 

It should have been funny, being cornered and threatened by the shorter, weaker man but Steve had found the experience terrifying. Happy Hogan was not a man to be messed with when it came to protecting Tony. 

Steve and Happy had managed to build a friendship through it and even after Tony had been gone, Steve had still found himself trusting Happy with the most important thing in his life. Peter.

Those few months when Steve had decided to move out of the tower and to Washington to work for SHIELD had been marred by the reveal of Hydra inside SHIELD and the Winter Soldier being sent after him.

Peter, who had only been 8 years old, had been caught in the crossfire the moment Bucky, still controlled by Hydra had decided to take a shot at Nick Fury in the living room of Steve’s new apartment. Steve hadn’t hesitated to get Peter out of the firing line, instructing Sharon Carter (He hadn’t known at the time she was the highly trained Agent 13) to get Peter to Happy, who he had known had been working at the DC branch of SI at the time. 

Steve was grateful that Happy had stood up to the challenge, getting Peter back to the safety of the tower and waiting with him as Steve, Natasha and Sam had fought to stop Hydra’s plan and save Bucky. 

Hydra had been stopped, even if it been the start of years of searching before Bucky had could be rescued. Steve had never forgotten Happy’s selfless loyalty and protection of Tony Stark’s child.

Speaking with Happy was a regular occurrence. But it was not going to happen today. Instead of entering the tower via the front entrance like he normally did, Steve entered through the back, looking around for Bruce. 

He had sped far more then was legal to get to the tower as fast as he could. If Tony was in danger, he needed to know why. And how to save him. Steve couldn’t lose Tony again. 

“Uncle Steeb!” a voice shouted as JARVIS closed the door behind Steve. The super soldier turned to see a little dark haired monster in a green dress running towards him. Automatically, Steve took a step forward, lowering himself to one knee and opening his arms as Rebecca Banner threw herself into his embrace. Rising to his feet, Steve turned in time to see Bruce, looking frizzled in true new parent style, step out of the elevator. 

“Becky!” Bruce called before spotting his daughter in Steve’s arms. The scientist’s shoulders slumped. “Thank god you are here Captain.” He continued, walking towards Steve who had shifted Rebecca so she could rest comfortably with her ear against Steve’s chest. She always liked to listen to the sound of a heart beating. For a 3 year old, the poor girl had already seen far too much violence in her short life, mostly at the hands of her insane grandfather who looked at her more as an experiment then a child.

Steve took a moment to place a kiss on Rebecca’s dark curls, so like both her mother and fathers hair. Then he turned to look at Bruce.

“What’s going on Bruce?” He asked, keeping his voice soft so as not to frighten the little girl or more importantly, trigger Bruce.

Bruce had exceptional control over his green alter ego these days but Steve could see how stressed the scientist was. The soldier didn’t want to risk an incident when the little girl was in the room with them.

Reaching into the bag the man had slung over one shoulder, Bruce quickly pulled out a stack of papers. Steve watched as several papers fell to the ground along with a little stuffed toy as Bruce tried to keep his grip on everything at once. 

Ducking down, the scientist tried to grab at the papers, making more of a mess as more papers fell out of his open bag. 

“Bruce.” Steve finally said, drawing the other man’s attention back to him. “Tell me that you need to tell me. Tell me why Tony is in danger.”

Bruce let the papers fall to the ground as he ran a hand over his face. 

“Steve, time travel is a very complex thing. We have only seen it in very limited circumstances, normally involving either super humans or enhanced individuals. And most of those involved travelling back in time, not forward. Normal humans like Tony are not built to survive the effects of a sudden jump, especially going forward in time.” The man said, slowly rising to his feet.

“What do you mean?” Steve asked as Rebecca wriggled in his arms, no doubt picking up on the sudden tension. 

“Tony’s immune system is 11 years behind what it should be. With the rate of mutation of diseases, he is seriously compromised by the lack of exposure. Even a minor cold could do serious damage to him right now and his risk of infections is through the roof. And Tony’s bad heart from the shrapnel makes this even worse, despite the arc reactor. He is already living on borrowed time and this…..” Bruce broke off, reaching towards Steve and taking Rebecca from the soldier’s arms.

“Steve, I have discussed it with Reed and the chances are not good for him. There is a very real chance Tony could die. I know it’s hard to face after losing him for 11 years but we may have to find a way to send Tony back to 2014 for his own safety.”

“But there are treatments right? Vitamins or immunisations or something to help strengthen his immune system?” The soldier asked, feeling cold now that the child had been taken from him. 

“Ideally he should be in isolation. There we can monitor him and a control his exposure to the outside world. It’s only theoretical but it could help. But there is no sure way and even the slightest miscalculation could have deadly consequences. I know you don’t want to hear it but I can’t see any other way. I have already contacted Doctor Stephan Strange and he has agreed to assist and is already looking into any possible magical options but he agrees with me. Sending Tony back to 2014 might be our only choice.”

“I can’t do that Bruce.” Steve said, shaking his head as he stepped backwards, away from both father and daughter.

“Steve!” Bruce called as Rebecca twisted in his grip, raising a small hand towards Steve. Steve ignored them both, turning slightly towards the elevator.

“What about Peter? He only just got his dad back. I can’t put him through this Bruce. I can’t and I won’t. There are other ways. Look into the controlled exposure. I’ll call Reed again and contact SHIELD. Coulson has some good doctors he could get on this. There has to be a way.” He said.

“What about Tony?” Bruce asked. “What do you plan to do? Lock him in the tower? Steve, this is Tony Stark. We can’t just hold him prisoner.”

Steve stepped towards the elevator, ignoring Bruce’s accusing stare. The door opened for him, allowing the blond haired man into the enclosed metal cage.

“JARVIS! Commence quarantine lockdown of Tony Stark, authorisation Rogers 448 Charlie, Alpha!”

“Code accepted Captain. Quarantine perimeters set.” JARVIS replied, confirming Steve’s order as Steve turned around to face the closing door.

“Steve!” Bruce shouted.

“Goodbye Bruce.” Steve called as the door slid closed.

\------

Tony slumped backwards into the desk chair, his head pounding. The speakers in his workshop belting out Bon Jovi at an almost deafening level. 

Reaching up, Tony ran his hand along his jaw, feeling the stubble starting to form around the longer hairs of his normally well-kept beard. He reached up and rubbed his eyes, blocking out the bright light of the 3D screen for a few moments.

The search into the effects of Time Travel had been pointless. Any valid information being lost among the crackpot theories littering the internet. If Tony got directed to the Grandfather Paradox theory one more time, he might punch someone. Preferably his grandfather, just to prove a damn point. 

The few instances of the Avengers dealing with Time Travel had been equally disappointing although Tony did plan to have a talk to Steve about someone call Kang the Conqueror. That name sounded like it belonged to a wannabe wrestler but it seemed the Avengers had some history with the guy and it involved time travel.

The look into Brucie-bears notes had not been exactly re-assuring either. Tony may be a mechanic, but he could put two and two together when it came to other sciences. And the conclusion he got certainly wasn’t five. 

Faintly, Tony wondered how Steve was going to handle this, and if Bruce had already come to the same conclusion as him. 

Reaching for the coffee Butterfingers had somehow managed to only spill half of before getting it to Tony, the genius took a sip. He fought back a wince at the too sweet taste. The boys never seemed to realise how much sugar was too much. 

The stress induced headache that had been plaguing him after the first hour of research was starting to make itself more and more noticeable. If the Hacking program didn’t finish soon, Tony was going to have to go and find some pain killers. 

Or Steve. Tony was fully on board with the idea that sex was the cure for a headache, not the excuse against it. 

The thought of sex with his husband felt odd. It had never before. Maybe it was because Tony was suddenly aware that from Steve’s point of view, he and Tony had not played been intimate in 11 years. 

Briefly, Tony wondered what Steve had done with himself over those 11 years. He had already admitted to Tony that he had dated while Tony had been gone and well, despite what the media thought, Captain America had not been the blushing virgin waiting to be corrupted by the morally grey playboy billionaire when Tony had first met him. 

Steve was like every other red blooded American. There would have been others. 

It just left the question of who. And how long. Tony never doubted Steve’s commitment to him in the same way that Steve had, despite the media trying to kick up a stink, never doubted Tony’s commitment. 

Still, it felt odd to now know that Steve and taken other lovers while Tony hadn’t been there. Tony couldn’t help that faint stab of jealousy.

The headache seemed to be getting worse. Tony sighed, throwing in the towel. The genius got to his feet and trudged over to the small table where the coffee machine stood. There was a small draw in the table which Steve had always kept stocked up with protein bars and pain pills for the few times Tony withdrew into himself. It had been a compromise they had reached early in their marriage, after one of their first explosive fights. To stop Steve worrying that Tony wasn’t eating during any of his 30 hour suit repair sessions, Steve had been allowed to stock the draw with whatever he saw fit and Tony, even when locked in his workshop, had to obey if Steve instructed him to eat. 

It hadn’t been as much of a problem in their last year. With the arrival of Peter, Tony had found his desires for isolation becoming less frequent. But Steve had always kept it stocked. 

Grabbing the handle, Tony pulled the draw open. He blinked. 

The draw was empty. 

Of course. 

Steve would have cleaned it out years ago. No point in keeping expired food locked away. No doubt he had also removed the remaining pain killers to the upstairs bathroom. 

Groaning, Tony turned, kicking the draw closed with the back of his heel as he moved back towards his work space. He ran a hand though his increasingly dirty hair. 

“Sir. I have gained access to SHIELD’s system and transferred all files to your server.” JARVIS said suddenly, the music dropping in volume to a faint hum as the AI spoke. 

“Good job J.” Tony replied, returning to his chair. “Make sure you cover your steps, don’t want SHIELD knowing I got in just yet. 

“Of course Sir. And Sir, I feel that I should inform you that Captain Rogers has returned from his run and is in the shower.”

“Uh ha.” Tony muttered as he brought up the new files, the SHIELD logo suddenly covering his screen. “I am sure Stevie knows where to find me if he wants me.”

“Sir, might I suggest that you rest and maybe use some time to have a shower, for the Captain and Master Peters sake.”

“JARVIS, are you implying that I stink?” Tony asked, faintly amused. 

JARVIS’s sass meter was going up it seemed. 

“I would never dream of it Sir. After all, you did not see fit to program me with a sense of smell.”

Tony smiled faintly, scanning through a few more files. He read a few lines before stopping.

“What is Incident Number 1833692-2016. EXTREMIS?” He finally asked. 

“I do not know Sir.” JARVIS replied. 

Tony shrugged.

“Alright. Let’s have a look see.” The genius said, opening the file. 

\------

In across the city in the Baxter Building, Reed sat in his private lab. 

It had been a long night, as the scientist had analysed and re-analysed the readings JARVIS had sent to his computer and gone over Stark’s medical exam. 

Despite being a genius, Reed was no closer to finding any answers for the sudden re-appearance of the supposedly dead hero then he had been the moment he had entered the Avengers Tower and laid eyes on Tony sitting in Bruce’s lab. 

But Reed owed it to the Avengers and to Steve to try and help. After all, the Avengers had always backed the Fantastic Four when things had gotten difficult and after Doom’s strike against Steve with the Tony android a few years back, well….

It was the least Reed could do to assist the Avengers and keep the news of Tony’s return a secret until they could figure things out.

Blinking back the fatigue, Reed brought up another screen on his computer, looking into the analysis of the blood Bruce had taken. Maybe there was some residue radiation or something in Tony’s blood. 

“Reed! Visitor!” A voice called over the intercom. 

Reed groaned and reached for the speaker.

“Not now Johnny.” He replied before turning back to his screen. 

The door to his lab, normally locked, suddenly opened. Startled, Reed automatically closed the screen, cursing to himself when he realised that he hadn’t saved his work.

“Not the sort of visitor you say no to.” Johnny replied, walking into the lab. Reed glared at his brother-in-law. Then his eyes fell on menacing figure behind Johnny. Reed blinked.

“Barnes.” He acknowledged, nodding towards the dark haired super soldier.

“Richards.” Bucky replied, moving towards Reed’s desk. 

“What do I owe this visit to?” Reed asked politely as Johnny followed behind Bucky like a puppy. Reed hadn’t had much to do with the Winter Solider outside of assisting with occasional arm repairs and helping him overcome Hydra’s conditioning but he still knew when the man was relaxed and when he was ready to kill. The Winter Soldier was not relaxed. And that was dangerous. 

Bucky stopped a few feet from Reed and eyed the scientist. 

“I have something to discuss with you.” The soldier stated. 

Reed nodded. 

“In private.” Bucky added, turning to look at Johnny who had crossed his arms over his chest and was now resting against the desk, watching the two. 

“Sure.” Johnny said, making no attempt to move. 

Reed sighed.

“Johnny.” He warned, as Bucky let out a low growl.

“Get out Storm!” The solder ordered. 

Johnny gave Reed a wide eyed look, mouth open in exaggerated shock.

“Are you going to let him talk to me like that?” The younger hero quipped. 

“Johnny, please go and help Sue or something.” Reed said, very aware of the way Bucky’s metal hand flexed threateningly. 

Johnny seemed about to argue but thankfully thought better of it. With a huff, the younger man turned and left the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. Reed watching him leave before turning to face Bucky, faintly wondering why Captain America’s best friend wanted to talk to him. It couldn’t be….No. Rogers had ordered a complete black out. There was no way Barnes could know. Could he? 

Reeds theory was shattered as Bucky turned towards him, placing both hands on the desk and leaning towards the scientist.

“Tell me what you know about the return of Tony Stark.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember reading somewhere a theory that travelling forward in time, although theoretically possible, would have serious consequences regarding human immune systems because of the fast rate in which most diseases mutate. I have never seen it used in any media involving time travel but I thought it was a really interesting idea and rather then having a villain being the cause of the trouble, I wanted something else. 
> 
> I will be adding a villain to the mix soon to shake things up but I like the idea of something as normal as disease being the big issue here. 
> 
> \----
> 
> I know the timeline here is probably starting to get confusing so I thought I would lay it down. 
> 
> This is set after The Avengers, before IM3 or CA:WS. The events of WS still happened, basically as it was shown in the movie. 
> 
> The events of IM3 also happened roughly a year after Tony dissapeared however, instead of Tony being involved, Clint was the one investigating the bombings for SHIELD and ended up working with Hank Pym to contain EXTREMIS which then got handed over to SHIELD before it was crushed by Hydra. EXTREMIS then got handed over to the re-born SHIELD under Director Coulson. 
> 
> Hank ended up working unofficially as a consultant to the Avengers during AOU and accidentally triggered Ultron (as per the comics) and assisted with the creation of Vision. He then retired and directed Scott Lang to work with the Avengers during the event of Civil War. 
> 
> The Civil War was also one of Spiderman's first outings with the Avengers. Civil War still happened in similar fashion and Peter did side for the Accords while Steve was against but Steve still maintains that Tony would have been on his side and used that to encourage Peter to switch sides mid battle. 
> 
> It was during the final parts of the Civil War that the Avengers met the Fantastic Four and had their first encounter with mutants. They then became allies with both groups.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter decides to go visit a friend while Steve and Tony get reacquainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance for Deadpool being a creeper. I am not 100% certain what happened for that part to be written but it did and well...Wade is Wade. What can you do except panic, bombard your beta with questions and then give up on life. Also, Tony and Steve get re-acquainted. It's not too graphic but warning anyway.

“Sir, Captain Rogers is on his way downstairs.” JARVIS warned as Tony continued to read the hacked files. Sighing, Tony closed the screen. 

Steve had always had an issue with Tony hacking into government files, ever since the first time on the Helicarrier. Tony still maintained that he had been a hairs breadth from uncovering all of SHIELD and Fury’s dirty secrets before Steve had decided to join ‘Team Fed Up With This Secrets Shit’ and kicked the door in to discover the horded weapons. Although Steve had never outright banned Tony from hacking into SHIELD again, he did tend to put on his frowny face whenever he caught Tony trying to bypass the firewall, let alone the looks of disappointment whenever he found Tony elbow deep in state secrets. 

Given the current circumstances, Tony didn’t want to antagonise Steve. After all, he probably wouldn’t be around for much longer and he didn’t want to spend it arguing with his husband who had only just gotten him back. 

Pushing himself out of his chair, Tony rolled up his sleeves and walked over to the opposite work bench, pulling up a random schematic from his old files. It was for an improvement to the Mark VI helmet he had been fiddling around with for a while. Dragging the file to the main screen, Tony made a show of studying the 3D projection.

Behind him, the door clicked open. 

“Tony? Are you busy?” Steve asked. 

Tony turned to look over his shoulder, not moving his hands which now cradled the 3D image. 

“Just putting everything back in order and looking over some designs.” He replied. “I haven’t even begun to re-boot any of my suits. J and I have got to get everything up and running before the next world ending event or I may end up sitting it out.”

Turning back to the image in his hands, Tony absentmindedly fiddled with it, making the face mask detach from the helmet. A strong pair of arms suddenly grabbed his hips before wrapping around him as Steve came up behind him, resting his chin on Tony’s shoulder. 

“You stink.” Steve muttered. 

“Keep working on being less subtle Cap.” Tony replied, unable to escape Steve’s grip with his hands full. “You almost got it that time.”

“Take a shower.” Steve replied. 

“You can’t make me.” Tony said, grinning.

“You know I can.” Steve replied. Tony could almost feel Steve’s own grin. Tony enjoyed when Steve was playful. It was such a different side of him from the man he had first met, who seemed to have a huge stick up his ass.

“You and what Army?” Tony challenged, enjoying the banter.

“I would say the United States Army but I doubt they would assist me with my husband’s hygiene so I will just have to say ‘The Avengers’’ Steve replied.

Tony gasped.

“You wouldn’t dare!” He replied trying to shift in Steve’s arms. But Steve’s grip was too strong.

“I will call Natasha. She’s already seen you naked.” The blond threatened. 

“Only that once!” Tony quickly defended. They weren’t supposed to talk about that incident.

“Come up stairs.”

“Two more minutes.”

“Tony, I am not playing that game again. Come up stairs.”

“Make me.”

“Alright.”

Tony didn’t have time to react as Steve released him. Suddenly Steve wasn’t behind him but in front, the soldier bending down. Tony felt the air forced out of him as Steve’s shoulder collided with his stomach, the blond moving forward suddenly and sending the genius off balance. Falling forward, Tony saw the 3D projection go flying as Steve effortlessly rose to his feet, Tony now slung over his shoulder like a duffle bag. 

The soldier turned and with quick movements, was striding out of the room, Tony unable to do anything but grab hold of his shirt (which smelt surprisingly strongly of bleach) and muttering a “Not fair!”

Steve laughed and continued onwards as behind him, JARVIS dimmed the lights and closed the door to the workshop.

\-------

The front right wheel on his skateboard was wobbling threateningly. Peter would have to fix that at some point soon if he didn’t want to eat the sidewalk. But that would not be today.

The neighbourhood was on the rough side of town, two bus rides and a ten minute walk from Peter’s home. Peter had always been told by his Pops to avoid venturing into these sort of areas as an un-accompanied minor. Too many people could see him as an easy target to be cornered in an alleyway and robbed or worse if they figured out who he was. 

Although Peter hadn’t ventured into the media spotlight in a few years (an attempt of his Pop’s to avoid him being recognised since he had insisted on going to a normal high school in Mid Town and living a normal-ish life) there were still some pictures that existed out there and extra-smart villain could possibly figure out who he was. JARVIS seemed to find evidence of plots to kidnap Peter every few months and despite the Avengers stepping in to prevent them, it was only Peter’s animosity that truly protected him from an uncomfortable experience involving dark vans and bags over his head. (Peter was well aware of the origins of Iron Man and could understand why his Pop’s was protective but still. Playing rooftop tag to try and sneak away from whoever his Pop’s assigned to watch him each night had become boring fast.)

Then again, that was why he had come here. 

Steve would never think to look for him here. And he wasn’t completely defenceless. The spare web shooters hidden by the sleeves of his hoodie were testament to that. And well, people around here may not know who he was but they knew who he was going to see and no one was willing to mess with that. 

Jumping off his skateboard, Peter looked up at the apartment block he had stopped in front of. Grabbing his board and tucking it under his arm, Peter made his way around the building to the fire escape. The ladder was a good few meters off the ground but that had never been a problem before. After checking that he was alone in the alleyway, Peter released a web, using it to drag himself onto the first walkway. 

Quietly, he climbed upwards towards the top floor before following the walkway around to the right window. It was the one that the occupant of the apartment had mentioned to Peter before, the one with the tricky lock and the soft landing. Peter carefully jimmied it open and started to wriggle his body through the tight opening. 

There was a warning ‘click’. 

Peter slowly looked up at the noise, still aware that he was wedged in the window.

“It’s me Al.” He said, eyeing the barrel of the pistol. 

Slowly, it lowered. 

“I should have known. Only you would be so stupid.” 

Peter couldn’t help but send the owner of the voice a smile, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. For a blind old lady, Al knew how to tell it like it was. 

“Love you too Al.”

Turning, Al seemed to make the gun vanish. 

“I don’t know what you are playing at kid, but one day you are going to get killed with that smart mouth of yours.”

Wiggling the rest of the way through the window, Peter narrowly avoided falling into the kitchen sink. Dropping his skateboard, the teenager quickly got to his feet, not bothering to hide his wince at the smell of the apartment. 

Quickly he turned and followed the old lady into the small living room, carefully sidestepping a few scattered tools and discarded weapons as Al sat down heavily on the sofa. 

Leaning his skateboard against the door where Al was less likely to trip on it, he turned to look at the mess. 

“Is he in?” The teen finally asked. 

“Should be.” Al replied.

Peter nodded and turned towards the closed bedroom door. He reached for the doorknob. 

“I wouldn’t go in if I were you.” Al continued. “The walls are thin and I know you are too young to see what he is doing in there.”

Peter froze for a moment before giving the doorknob a friendly pat. He turned back to the sofa.

“May I?” He asked. 

“Free country.” Al replied. She didn’t even flinch as Peter sat down next to her. “What are you doing here kid? You sound like Jail-bait. Not the sort of person to get involved with the likes of him.” 

Peter couldn’t help but grin.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“I have seen some messed up shit in my time kid. Well, sort of. Kid like you should still be in school and trying to impress your mommy and daddy. Not in this hole with us.” 

“Don’t have a mommy Al.” Peter replied. “And I don’t go to school.” Technically it was true. He was in collage now. And when not there, either working with the Avengers or working part time at the Daily Bugle. 

Al snorted. She could probably hear the deception in his voice. She paused. 

“Look out. He’s about to make an entrance.” She warned. 

Peter turned in time to see the bedroom door forced open and a figure appear.

“Is that my Petey I hear?” A loud voice boomed. 

“Oh god!” Peter muttered, throwing his hand over his eyes to block the sight from view.

“He’s not wearing pants again, is he?” Al said. Unlike Peter, she hadn’t turned to see what was going on. For a moment, Peter hated the amusement he could hear in her voice. 

“No he isn’t.” 

“Oh you two! Such blushing virgins.” The voice teased. 

“Go and put some pants on Wade.” Peter instructed, refusing to turn around or remove his hands from his eyes. 

“But it’s Pants Off Friday!” Wade whined. 

“It’s Tuesday.” Peter shot back. 

“What? You mean Finn and Jake lied to me?” Peter could basically hear the pout 

“WADE! Pants!” Peter ordered. He knew with Wades one track mind, he had to keep the mercenary on track or else nothing would get done.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the web. Need me to come over and make sure that doesn’t happen again baby boy?” Wade teased. Peter finally heard the welcome sound of fabric rustling and the metal noise of a zipper.

“I’m 16.” Peter replied, finally feeling it was safe to remove his hand. He was greeted by the sight of Wade bending over, wrestling a pair of jeans over his bare behind. “God dammit Wade!” 

“Only in this story!” Wade crowed in a singsong voice, finally managing to wrestle his pants on. The mercenary turned and threw himself on the couch, landing on Peters other side and almost throwing the teen off. An arm snaked around his shoulder, keeping Peter firmly on the seat.

“So, what can I do for you today? Supa-Pop giving you a headache? One of the many birdbrains being too sassy or did Iron Hand Uncle finally go postal and pulled out his hobo look again? Although personally, I think he pulls off the hobo look very well. Not many guys can rock the crying girl at prom look and still be able to block an indestructible shield to the face. Oh, is Doctor Big Guy gone green? Please tell me he put Wolverine through a brick wall again! I laughed so hard I almost died last time.”

‘Wade!” Peter shouted, trying to stop the rant before it began. Wade’s mouth slammed shut. “I just need quiet!” Peter continued, pushing Wades arm off his shoulder. 

“Well you are not going to get it here.” Al muttered. Groaning, the old woman rose to her feet. “I’m going to sleep. You had better keep it down or I am calling the vice squad and reporting that you are molesting a minor.” 

“Love you Al!” Wade called as the old woman left the room. He turned back to Peter, grinning as Al muttered something and disappeared. 

“But in all seriousness Spidey, what reason do you have to grace my humble abode sans red tights on this fine Tuesday?”

Peter wiggled on the couch, putting a little distance between himself and the Merc. Wade didn’t follow him. The man may be insane and a menace when it came to innuendos but he never crossed the line, despite what most people thought of him. It was because of that, he was one of the people Peter trusted most, despite being a mercenary. The other Avengers hated it but Peter had really enjoyed his few team ups with Wade as Spiderman and Deadpool, even if Wade insisted on calling them Spideypool. 

“I just needed to get out of the tower.” Peter replied, wrapping his arms around his chest. 

“Say no more, say no more. Me casa is your casa! We can make it into a sleep over. I’ll make chimichangas and we can braid each other’s hair and watch Ryan Reynolds movies. It will be a regular girl’s night. And speaking of Ryan Reynolds, did you know he married Blake Lively? I mean, she’s cool but I totally ship him with Huge Jackman!”

Peter groaned and covered his face with his hands again. 

“Or we could go out thug hunting. Whatever you wanna do Spidey. Except the chimichangas. Those are non-negotiable.”

\------

They had managed to compromise on the shower. Well, Tony took a shower and in turn, Steve didn’t call Natasha to help him stripe his husband and throw him in the pool like he had threatened when Tony had tried to escape the third time by ramming his elbow into Steve’s side.

While Tony had been in the bathroom, making a genuine attempt at using up all the hot water, Steve had located a shopping bag outside their bedroom. Natasha must have left it, if the note on the front of the plastic bag was any indication. 

The clothes inside were all in Tony’s size and to his taste unlike the joke shirt Clint had left before. There were jeans, singlets and t-shirts and a hoodie as well as suit pants and office shirts. Collecting the jeans and a singlet, Steve reminded himself to thank Natasha soon. The assassin had been more then helpful with everything, giving Steve the space to process everything and just be with Tony without any hassles. Steve knew that Nat was already taken over his meeting with other Avengers and re-directed several calls from government officials, although not Sam. (Steve had gotten an ear bashing from his friend after finding all the missed calls and texts on his phone.)

After that of course, he would have to explain why he had ordered JARVIS to initiate quarantine procedures. Nat would understand. Steve was sure of it. They had butted heads during the Accord fiasco but Natasha always helped Steve when it mattered. She would understand Steve’s actions.

Leaving the clothes on the bed for when Tony emerged from the bathroom, Steve made his way to the kitchen to grab an apple. He normally tried to eat something healthy after his runs. After inquiring with JARVIS about Peter’s whereabouts (JARVIS had informed him that the teen had gone to the local skate park to clear his head), Steve turned to face the window.

Looking out over New York as he ate, Steve thought back to his conversation in the work shop. Tony had said he was re-booting the suits meaning it wouldn’t be long before he was demanding to be let out. Tony had no idea of the danger he faced if he left the tower. Steve couldn’t let him return to the Avengers just yet (and not just because half of them could accidentally attack Tony thinking he was a fake) If Tony got outside, he would face all sorts of problems from the media, from any villains that wanted to strike against the Avengers and from his own depleted immune system. He needed to stay in the tower until his return could be sorted out. 

But Steve couldn’t just tell Tony he couldn’t leave the tower. Tony rarely took to orders well, especially from Steve, who he seemed to see as a personal challenge to irritate every time. To tell Tony he had been locked in the tower would be like telling a starving man he couldn’t eat and then leaving a banquet before him. It was cruel and wouldn’t work. 

Maybe Steve could reason with Tony?

Maybe sweet talk him into agreeing to stay put for a little while?

Steve knew he couldn’t keep it a secret from Tony. Tony had so many people betray his trust over the years and Steve didn’t want to add his name to that list. 

No, he would have to tell Tony what was going on, explain everything in full to him and hope Tony wouldn’t do anything rash.

Steve could hear the water turn off in the shower. 

Throwing the apple core away, Steve quickly made his way back to the bedroom. It would be better to get this over with as soon as possible, get Tony used to the idea before he accidentally found out by himself.

Tony was already lying on the bed, dressed in the jeans and skin tight singlet, the arc reactor glowing through the thin fabric. Tony hadn’t bothered to dry his hair and Steve could already see the damp patch forming under his head. Tony had thrown his arm up over his eyes and he was groaning softly.

“Are you alright?” Steve asked, immediately forgetting about his planned conversation. Tony rarely made it known when he was in pain in front of Steve and never in front of the other Avengers. 

Tony jolted, taken by surprise. Rising his arm up so he could see, Tony looked toward the door, brown eyes focusing on Steve.

“Fine.” He replied.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Tony?” He said in a warning voice.

“Just a headache dear. Nothing to worry your pretty head over.” Tony replied, dropping his arm back over his eyes. The genius shifted on the bed, the singlet rising up a little as he wiggled around, showing his surprisingly firm stomach. 

Steve felt his mouth go dry. How long had it been since he had been intimate with another person? Far too long if Steve had to ask himself that question. And with Tony, even longer. 

Slipping off his shoes, Steve made his way silently to the bed.

“Lucky I have the cure for that.” The soldier muttered. Reaching forward, he grabbed Tony’s wrist in one hand, forcing the genius’s arm up over his head. Climbing onto the bed, Steve straddled Tony, resting just enough of his weight on the slighter man to hold him still but not enough that Tony couldn’t escape if he wanted to. 

He waited for a moment for Tony to give him his full attention before leaning down and kissing his husband gently, nothing too forceful but enough for Tony to know that there it was his choice. That Tony was in control. 

Tony responded immediately, pushing up into the kiss, his free hand reaching up to rest against Steve’s side before snaking around his wrist, pulling Steve more firmly on top of the other man. 

Steve took the invitation, breaking away from the kiss only to begin trailing kisses down Tony’s jaw to his neck. 

“Pete not going to walk in on us, is he?” Tony asked, trying to cover a moan. Steve paused for a moment, his mouth resting against Tony’s collarbone. 

“He went out and the others know not to venture onto our floor uninvited.” He replied against the skin of Tony’s shoulder. 

“Then why are we still talking?” 

Steve gently bit at Tony’s neck in reply, his free hand coming up to rest on the arc reactor at the center of Tony’s chest, his fingers splayed across the glowing circle. Tony’s free hand slapped from Steve’s back as the genius groaned at the bite. After a moment of blind searching, his hand found Steve’s on his chest, threading their fingers together. 

Releasing Tony’s other hand, Steve reached down to his partners hip, gently stroking the exposed skin before reaching for the zipper of Tony’s jeans. His hand was knocked away as Tony’s hips arched up suddenly.

“Captain, you had better have a game plan here or so help me, I am kicking you out and finishing myself.” Tony muttered. 

In revenge, Steve pressed forward, his crotch brushing against Tony’s, his free hand pulling away to support his weight as his husband moaned from the contact.

“Shut up Tony.” Steve muttered, drawing his hips back as Tony tried to move.

Quickly, he pressed his lips against Tony’s once again, stopping Tony’s reply before it could be formed. 

Tony’s hand, no longer trapped above his head, was suddenly on the small of Steve’s back, slipping beneath fabric to get at Steve’s warm skin. 

Breaking from the kiss, Steve turned his head slightly, allowing Tony to return the trail of kisses down his jaw. Briefly, he thought about stopping Tony before things got too heated, or of even using Tony’s current good mood to his advantage so they could talk about what was going on. There would always be sex later. Well, as long as Tony wasn’t too angry at him that was. 

Then Tony’s hand finally managed to get inside the front of Steve’s pants and he didn’t think anymore. 

\-------

“All tests have come back positive.” Reed said, bringing up the files on his computer again to show his dark haired guest. “He is the real Tony Stark.”

Beside him, Bucky’s head dropped, the soldier letting out a long breath.

“Dammit!” He muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooo! Why is Bucky swearing? What is going on in that crazy head of his? Why did White_Noise bail on a sex scene? Did Wade break the fourth wall there or was it just a typo?  
> I don't intend to answer any of those question except the first one. So stay tuned for this very slow, way too detailed story that doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast. 
> 
> (And yes, Steve was a bit of a dick to Bruce in the last chapter, and I am sure everyone can see where this whole forgetting to tell Tony thing is going. I am being a little petty with him over his convoluted morality in CW and well, he is hitting back at me.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony realises his new home is actually a gilded cage, Steve is caught up in the past and Bucky has to face a Hydra secret before it comes out to destroy them all.

It was several hours later that Tony finally made his way back to his workshop downstairs, leaving his husband napping in their bed. As predicted, the headache had disappeared, replaced by comfortingly sore muscles and light bruises on his neck and shoulders (Most people would never guess that Captain America, the embodiment of American values, loved to bite during sex)

Rolling his shoulders, Tony sighed. He had been forced to shower a second time after he had finally managed to detangle himself from Steve’s grip and the hot water had felt surprisingly good and helped Tony to stop thinking for a little while. But the problem with Tony Stark was he thought too much sometimes. And now he was thinking about Steve.

Something was wrong in that blond head of his. Steve had never been good at keeping his emotions from Tony, especially when it had something to do with Tony. Hell, their first true meeting, Tony had been pressing all of Steve’s buttons, just to prove that he could. They had come a long way since and Tony was certain Steve would never keep anything important a secret from him, he knew how Tony felt about secrets. 

Steve had something on his mind. That wasn’t a question, it was fact. Something big if it was interfering with their time together. Vaguely, Tony wondered if what was on Steve’s mind was on his mind. 

Tony wouldn’t put it past Bruce panicking and telling Steve what was going on, should Tony’s Science Bro figure it out. Bu Steve would do something or say something if he knew. He wouldn’t just wait around. That didn't make sense.

So something else must be going on. Something Tony wasn't aware of. And despite hating it, he would just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, he had other things to do. 

“J, where were we?”

“I believe we were discussing the history of the Extremis virus.”

“Right. Back to that….remind me again what it was?”

“Of course sir, in 2016, scientist Maya Hansen completed her research on a project code named Extremis. It was nanotechnology designed as a way to re-write the human body, promote healing and repair by ‘hacking’ the human brain and turning it into an organic computer. Trials of Extremis showed that it was unstable. Doctor Hansen’s college, Aldrich Killian approached Miss Potts, wanting to collaborate with Stark Industry to stabilise Extremis but Miss Potts rejected his offer. At the same time, Agent Barton was deployed by SHIELD to investigate a series of suicide bombings with ties to a terrorist known as The Mandarin.” JARVIS began. 

Throwing himself onto the couch, Tony sighed. Absentmindedly, he tapped his fingers over the arc reactor.

“Yep. Remember that. Clint found out he was an actor, right?” He said.

“Correct sir. Many of the alleged suicide bombers were patents participating in the Extremis trials. The nanobots were unstable, repairing the damage to its hosts but, except for in patents with a rare genetic defect, the virus would overload, causing them to become living bombs. Agent Barton uncovered a plot by Mr Killian to kill President Ellis and put Vice-President Rodriguez in his place and entered into consultation with Doctor Hank Pym over how to stabilise Extremis to prevent any more deaths. Mr Killian was suffering the advanced effects of Extremis at the time and attempted to kidnap Miss Potts to force her to hand over Stark Industries R&D department to him. Miss Potts was infected with the Extremis virus during the attack and Doctor Hansen was killed. Agent Barton contacted Colonel Rhodes who assisted him with stopping Mr Killian. Doctor Pym managed to successfully neutralise the virus in Miss Potts, who ordered all traces of Extremis destroyed, excluding two samples. One which is now kept in Doctor Banner’s lab here at Avengers Tower and another which is in currently in SHIELD’s possession.”

Tony sighed. He didn’t know how to feel about what he was hearing. He should have been there. Pepper had been threatened, his friends had been threatened and this amazing tech had been invented and Tony hadn’t been there. Tony was caught between emotions, leaving him feeling numb.

“Can’t believe I missed all that.” He said in a monotone, looking down at the glowing light on his chest. “Humans becoming living, breathing computers. Holy shit.” 

“Sir, it could not be helped and I can assure you that Miss Potts is fine.”

‘Yeah, well I would like to see that for myself. Call her J. It’s about time I stopped being a hermit.”

“I’m sorry sir but I cannot allow that.” JARVIS replied. 

“What?” Tony asked, looking up in confusion.

“I am under direct orders to only allow certain people knowledge of your return.”

“Who?” Tony demanded, rising from his seat. He could feel his anger starting to rise. 

“Agents Barton and Romanov, Doctors Banner and Richards and Sergeant Barnes are so far the only people currently aware of your return, aside from your immediate family.” JARVIS replied. 

“On whose orders?” Tony demanded.

"Captain Rogers.” 

“Well fuck that! Override it.”

“I cannot sir. The Captain has issued protocol 448 to ensure you do not leave the tower.”

Tony froze. Protocol 448 was a very specific protocol Tony had created long ago, after the Loki incident. Shaken by Clint’s brainwashing and how close Tony himself had come to being mind raped by the trickster god, the hero had been forced to re-evaluate certain truths. He was a genius with access to some of the most advanced technology of its time. If Loki or some other group managed to get Tony onside, willingly or not, it could be a disaster, not just for the Avengers but for everyone. 

In preparation for that, Tony had created the protocol as a way of locking him out of his own systems, should he lose himself and become a villain. It had also served a second purpose. To stop Tony if he ever became a danger to himself. 

Tony knew he was mentally unwell. Had been for as long as he could remember, probably even before the shit in Afghanistan. A lonely childhood, devoid of social interaction outside of his mother and Jarvis, the family butler, had left Tony to the mercy of the media. The media who loved to report all the scandalous stories of a vulnerable child. 

Added to that the constant disapproval of Howard Stark and his untimely death had left Tony with severe feelings of inadequacy. Feelings that had been channelled into his destructive playboy lifestyle before Iron Man and the Avengers had become his life.

Tony still faintly remembered an incident, not long before the forming of the Avengers. He had gone off in front of Pepper and ended up hanging off the balcony of his mansion in Malibu, 50 meters above the sea. 

Pepper had almost killed him for that stunt once she managed to talk him down and bring him back inside. It was the closest he had ever come to suicide. 

And the other reason why the protocol had been made.

Once the protocol was given, the order could be tailored to the situation and only unlocked through the authorisation of the person who gave the original order.

Only 3 people knew about the protocol. Pepper, Rhodey and Steve. 

All had made solemn promises to use the protocol only as a very last option, if it looked like they couldn’t get Tony back or he had become a danger to himself. 

None of them had ever had to use it. 

Until today. 

“Son of a bitch!” Tony growled, stalking out of his workshop.

\-------

_Clint was about to go insane. The sass levels in the room were way too high, even for him. Tony and Steve had been at it for hours, passive-aggressively arguing back and forth. Clint normally wouldn’t have minded them arguing. It seemed to make up roughly 60% of their relationship._

_But the fact that they were doing it in the main living area of the tower while Clint was trying to watch tv was slowly driving the archer mad._

_The topic of today’s spat was Tony’s poor eating habits. Steve was apparently expressing some horror at the fact that Tony was already on his 5th cup of coffee for the day and it hadn’t even reached 11am yet._

_Groaning, Clint wished Natasha was there to help him deal with this. The red haired assassin was good at separating the two whenever they got too argumentative, a skill which Clint really needed to learn if any of them were to survive the relationship that was ‘Stony’ (Tony had been the one to coin that term. Clint suspected he was probably drunk when he did)_

_Leaning forward on the couch, Clint buried his face in his hands as the argument went up another notch. Apparently Steve had just learnt that the last actual meal Tony had eaten was a slice of cold pizza around noon the previous day._

_Something inside Clint snapped._

_“For goodness sake!” He growled, not even bothering to turn to face the two men. “You two are acting like an old married couple and you aren’t even married yet!”_

_Behind him, there was a stunned silence._

_Clint sighed, thanking the gods he didn’t believe in and the ones he knew existed (But not Thor. Dude’s ego was big enough already) that it was finally over._

_‘Huh.” Tony said from behind Clint. “There’s a thought.”_

_Clint’s head turned so fast he almost gave himself whiplash._

_“Wait, what?” He said, almost falling off the couch. Behind him, Steve and Tony were standing almost chest to chest, no doubt having just attempted to stare each other into submission._

_“What do you think Captain?” Tony asked, looking directly at Steve._

_“If it will get you to eat something.” Steve replied. Clint could swear he could hear the smile, even as Steve’s face remained impressively still._

_“You drive a hard bargain Cap.” Tony said. Unlike Steve, he was smiling now._

_“Get into the kitchen Mr Stark.” Steve replied._

_“So bossy, the old ball and chain is.” Tony said._

_Suddenly he turned on the spot, his shoulder hitting Steve’s as he made his way towards the kitchen. Steve followed immediately, almost like he was glued to Tony’s back._

_“What the hell just happened?” Clint asked aloud._

_“What?” A voice asked. Clint turned to see Bruce exit the lift, looking round the common room in confusion._

_“I think I just accidently got Tony and Steve engaged via argument.” Clint said, feeling bewildered._

_Above him, JARVIS’s camera captured the whole scene._

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Steve paused the video playing on his StarkPad. He couldn’t stop the smile. Clint’s confusion, their casual slide into their engagement, all the things that had made this relationship so special. 

He and Tony had never done things properly, that was for sure. Their engagement via argument (as Clint liked to call it) Their spur of the moment wedding, after a major incident in Washington when Tony had stepped out of the armour in a rumpled business suit after his board meeting was cut short due to the explosion and Steve, caught up in the moment, had dragged his husband to be to a small church to do the right thing. 

Even their announcements to the media had been in their own way, more often than not unannounced and spur of the moment. 

Steve still remembered how the media had found out about their engagement. It had been a little while after the rest of the Avengers had found out, when Tony had dragged Steve to the Maria Stark Charity Gala as his plus one. 

The media had been rife with rumours about their relationship, since neither Tony nor Steve had felt it necessary to inform anyone outside their loyal circle of friends about it. More often than not in those early days, Steve had been bombarded by the press when he had gone on his morning runs and Tony’s press conferences to unveil new tech had often been overshadowed by the questions of his apparent fling. 

No one had been certain if they were even together, the media making up all sorts of rumours from Tony seducing Steve to improve Stark Industry stock prices to Steve being accused of being an old fling of Tony’s father, trying to move in on the son. A lot of unkind comments had been levelled at Tony over his apparent seduction of America’s virtues golden boy, comments which Steve had not taken kindly to. 

So it had been fun attending the event, just days after their engagement, newly minted engagement rings on their fingers (It had been the only time apart from their wedding when Tony had willingly worn the ring although Steve knew he always kept it on him wherever he went. Steve had broached the topic of why Tony hated wearing the ring the day after their engagement only to be subjected to a very long, very graphic slideshow of the dangers of wearing jewellery around electrical equipment and machinery. After seeing those horrific images of torn off fingers and 3rd degree burns, Steve had agreed with Tony that he didn’t need to wear a ring to show his commitment except to special events. It helped that Steve knew Tony was still carrying it around. It had been found in Tony’s jacket the day after he disappeared and Steve had still held onto it years later, keeping it safe with his own ring.)

To say the crowds had been taken by surprise had been an understatement. The moment Happy had dropped the two men at the front entrance, the photographers had been tripping over themselves to get an image of the two, the lenses of their cameras inevitably focusing on the two heroes hands. 

Tony had handled the questions like the professional he was, answering all screamed questions in a roundabout way that kept the leeches happy without giving away any information while Steve had stood beside him, fighting to keep his smile hidden. 

Once they had made their way inside, the fun had continued with several socialites sending sour looks their way, the two men having destroyed a lot of fantasies with their quiet declaration and commitment to each other. 

Tony had always loved messing with people and dragging Steve along for the ride. 

It was something Steve had really missed over the years. 

Leaning back on the headboard of the bed, Steve gave a content sigh. His husband was back and safe in the tower, there wasn’t any world ending events happening and everything felt perfect. 

Suddenly, Steve’s phone which he had left sitting on the bedside table lit up. A message flashed across the screen.

‘Code 1.’ It read. 

\------- 

From his place on the edge of the roof of the Baxter Building, Bucky turned. He had retreated up here to try and gather himself, hoping the silence would somehow help him make sense of what was happening. 

None of the Fantastic Four had been impressed when the Winter Soldier barged into their territory, despite being allies. Reed himself had been somewhat annoyed, demanding that Bucky tell him what was going on once the man had confirmed that Tony Stark was indeed alive and well. 

Bucky had found himself conflicted. 

How did you tell someone you didn’t really know the truth? How could Bucky tell Reed about his ties to the Starks? How could he tell the other man that he had been the one to smash Howard Stark’s face in, strangle Maria Stark to death as she begged for her life? How could he tell Reed about the other trigger, the one that he had never been able to break, despite the efforts of T’Challa and the Wakandan scientists. The one they had never worried about because they never thought it could become an issue. 

How could he tell Reed that one of the Winter Soldiers prime objectives, one of the missions he had never managed to complete, was the capture of Tony Stark, to be handed over the Hydra?

Bucky knew objectively that he had complete control over almost all aspects of his mind. It had taken years of work to achieve but he was safe. 

Unless it came to Tony Stark. 

Tony, who had been a teenager when Hydra had first taken an interest in him. Zola was on his deathbed and Hydra desperately needed a mind skillful enough to take his place. 

Tony Stark, son of Howard Stark, teenage genius with ties to SHIELD and god son of Peggy Carter herself had been the only one ever considered as Zola’s replacement.

Getting Tony to Hydra was a strike on all sides. A strike against Howard, who had developed so many weapons that had harmed Hydra and even been a part of the ground that had made Captain America. A strike against Peggy Carter, the director of SHIELD who had been a constant threat to Hydra. And a strike against America. 

Bucky could still remember the night he had murdered the Starks. Hydra intelligence had told him that the then teenager should have been in the car alongside his parents while Howard transported the new Super Soldier serum to a discreet SHIELD facility. 

The Winter Soldiers orders had been clear. 

Stop the car, kill the older Starks and get the serum and the teenager to the handover point with minimum force. The elite Hydra team would be waiting there to collect both packages. 

The Winter Soldier had succeeded in the first part of the mission but it had been de-railed when he had realised that the teenager wasn’t there. 

Rage had led him to deal with the older Starks much more violently then he intended, and although he had gotten the serum to his handlers, he had still been punished for failing to collect the teenager. 

The Winter Soldier had attempted to recover from the incident but he had been unable to get another clear shot at the teenager, the boy suddenly becoming a lot more heavily guarded by both SHIELD agents and by Stane, his new guardian. 

The Winter Soldier had been put back on ice after his failure, to wait for another opportunity. 

The next time the Winter Soldier had been awoken to try and collect the genius, he had been a man. A self-destructive mess. A weapons maker. The Merchant of Death. Ideally, it should have been easy to collect him. 

Stark had been kidnapped by terrorists in Afghanistan, after Stane had sold him out. The Afghanis had been under the orders to kill Stark immediately but a well-placed Hydra agent had managed to talk them from that notion. A deal had been struck and payment made for the terrorists to hand over the genius once he had made them their weapon. 

Hydra were not fools through, and The Winter Soldier had been dispatched to assist with the handover, as a not so gentle reminder to the terrorists not to betray Hydra by trying anything stupid like keeping the genius for themselves or killing him.

The Winter Soldier had made his way to the compound only to find a war zone. 

It seemed that Stark had a few tricks up his sleeve, despite the terrorist’s best attempts to contain him. 

The Soldier had looked around the compound, saw the charred remains of the fighters and realised there was nothing more he could do. 

He had turned away. 

The next time he had been woken, the target had been different. Hydra had still had an interest in Stark but it seemed like the man had got himself some powerful allies. Trying to get him at that point would be useless and unravel all the work Hydra had done, so the Solider had been issued a new target. Nick Fury, Head of SHIELD. 

Years of planning had ensued, during with Stark had disappearing and been declared dead. It had been a blow to Hydra’s plans for the genius. Briefly, there had been discussion about Stark's own heir, but the boy was too young for his intelligence and abilities to be assessed and he wasn’t Stark's child by blood so Peter had been dismissed as a potential replacement for his father and instead, negated as a possible target to be used against Captain America.

After that it had been the ill-fated attack on Steve, Sam and Natasha that had seen the Winter Soldier lose control and Bucky Barnes to be brought back from the dead. 

Bucky had tried to bury his old orders, hiding away to try and avoid what he had done and what he had been tasked to do. 

Eventually, he had been found by the Avengers and despite the chaos that had followed with the Accords and the bombing of the UN, he had managed to be saved. He was an Avenger now himself, working alongside his best friend and sworn to stop Hydra. 

But a small part of him, a part that had been the Winter Soldier was already plotting, thinking of ways to get into the Tower, to grab Tony Stark and bring him to Hydra. And Bucky wasn’t sure how much control he had over that dark part of himself. 

Reed had been surprisingly understanding as Bucky had attempted to explain his problem, although the scientist had insisted Bucky leave his lab shortly after, promising that he would look into it when he had the time. Bucky hadn’t wanted to add to the man’s current list of problems but it seemed he had little choice so instead he had retreated to the top of the building to think.

“So what’s got your knickers in a knot?” A voice asked, breaking Bucky’s concentration. 

Bucky turned as behind him, Johnny Storm stood. 

The man was an oddity. In many ways, he reminded Bucky of Steve. Similar facial features and the same colour eyes. Hell, they even had a similar smile, although Steve didn’t tend to smile nearly as often as Johnny who seemed to have a permanent grin on his face. 

In other ways, they were nothing alike. Johnny being a lot younger and without Steve’s impressive build thanks to the serum. His brown hair different from Steve’s natural blond. Their accents too were different, Steve still had a hint of the Brooklyn drawl. Their personalities too were very different, Steve being the far more serious of the two although Johnny could be a protective son of a bitch when provoked. 

That still hadn’t stopped the comparisons between them, which Bucky knew secretly drove Steve nuts, even if Johnny found them funny. 

It wasn’t so hard to imagine that, had he been born in a different era, Steve could have been a lot like Johnny.

Bucky actually felt comfortable around Johnny most of the time. They guy wasn’t too serious and could draw a laugh out of most people if he set his mind to it. He was a good friend of Peter’s and the rest of the Avengers respected him, even if they often had to resort to threats if the Firestarter got too out of hand. 

Reed, Sue and Ben were always at Johnny’s back and it didn’t take a genius to see that they were a formidable team, one which deserved its praise even when not connected to the Avengers. 

That didn’t mean that whenever he and Bucky interacted, it was pleasant.

“Go away Storm.” Bucky muttered half-heartedly. 

“Wow! In my own house too!” Johnny replied, moving forward to stand with Bucky on the ledge.

“Aren’t you just here because you are living off your sister and brother-in-law’s charity?” Bucky questioned. 

“You wound me Barnes.” Johnny replied. “They love me and want me around.”

“Sure.” Bucky grumbled. 

Johnny nudged Bucky with his shoulder. 

“You love me too.” He replied. 

“Don’t push it Storm.”

Bucky didn’t even have to turn to know that Johnny was grinning like a lunatic. 

Suddenly, Bucky‘s comm started to vibrate. Turning away from the view, the Super Soldier activated it, pushing the small device into his ear. 

“Yes.” He said, ignoring how Johnny had shuffled closer to try and hear.

“We have a code 1. Get to the mansion and get kitted up immediately.” The voice on the other end of the line ordered. 

Bucky nodded, pulling the comm from his ear. He quickly walked back to the ledge. 

“You guys gonna need a hand?” Johnny asked from behind Bucky. 

Quickly, Bucky scanned the sheer drop before spotting his bike where he had left it when he had first arrived. 

Without replying to Johnny’s question, The Winter Soldier stepped off the ledge.

\-------

Peter was sitting on the fire escape outside Wade’s apartment, left sleeve of his hoodie rolled up to his elbow as he absentmindedly fiddled with the webshooter. Below him, normal people walked on the streets, going about their daily lives. 

Inside, Wade was still talking, his voice loud enough for Peter to hear even though the wall. The Merc had gotten into an argument with himself about half an hour before and Peter knew from experience that the best thing to do was wait it out. Eventually Wade would either give up on his argument with the voices in his head or forget Peter was even there and disappear altogether. 

Peter didn’t really mind which happened first. 

Adjusting the calibration on the device on his arm, Peter looked over at the other edge of the fire escape. Someone had left an empty beer bottle balancing on the metal railing. 

Well, it was good enough for practice. 

Aiming his newly calibrated webshooter at the bottle, Peter quickly did the mental maths to get the best shot.

On his free arm, something beeped. 

Blinking, Peter lost focus on the bottle, instead reaching for his other sleeve. Hitching it up, he quickly activated his watch, focusing on the 3D screen as the projection showed the message. His throat tightened. 

“Code 1.” He muttered to himself. 

Jumping to his feet, the teenager climbed quickly through the window, looking for his bag and the spare suit hidden within. 

Spiderman was needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry everyone. When I started this, I had a whole plot decided but then I wanted to slow everything down and go in-depth into the history of what Tony missed in those 11 years (Hence why such long winded chapters that don't go anywhere) and the thoughts and feelings of everyone and the idea grew and changed and now I can't remember who the original villain I had picked for this was because I kept changing my mind. 
> 
> So give me a little time to plan and hopefully I will be able to remember what was going to happen when I actually get to the action bit of this story.

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to my Beta Beebleblack, who was awesome enough to put aside her Stucky love for a quick venture into Stony to help me with this. Thank you m'dear.


End file.
